


Sun's Joy: Academy of Despair

by Pochapal



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Fangan Ronpa, Gen, OC Story, Original Character Death(s), Original Characters - Freeform, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 18:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 167,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1438066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pochapal/pseuds/Pochapal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sixteen students carrying the hopes of the world on their shoulders are accepted into the academy of their dreams. But this hope soon comes crashing down into despair as they realise there is no way out. Well, unless you count what the terrifying stuffed bear said. But really, who would be foolish enough to actually kill another human being? Surely there must be another way out. All that's left to do is to find it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. This story is basically an elsewhere School Life of Mutual Killing, where Hope's Peak type schools begin to pop up all over the world whilst the Despair-inducing Event takes place in Japan.
> 
> The story has minimal impact on canon, but do be aware that this would theoretically take place after the events of DR/SDR2, so there may be some casual endgame spoilers dropped from Monobear. Besides that, we should be good to go!

Enhanced Talent Academies. That was what they were known as. Schools that catered only to the exceptional geniuses of the world. They were symbols of the world's hope, built with one goal in mind: to preserve the future. And by focusing on enhancing extraordinary talents displayed by the youth population, they would hopefully breed a new super-generation. One that would set the world free of despair, and send it spiralling into hope. That was the dream shared by the people behind this.

But, they failed to take into account that as always, the slightest traces of despair were interlaced with the rays of hope. By the time the founders of the academy realised this, it would be too late to do anything about it. The students had already been enrolled, and the semester was due to begin in a matter of days. But despair had seeped into the walls of the academies, and none of the students were aware of the suffering that would follow.

One academy in particular, known as Sun's Joy Academy, would experience despair at its worst.

The staff had all been murdered weeks ago. The remnants of the massacre had long been cleaned up. Adjustments had been made to the campus, situated on a remote island in the Pacific. It was ready to accommodate this new school life the students would be experiencing.

But the academy was not desolate; no, there remained one figure within the doors, sitting at a desk, staring over several surveillance screens. They shifted in their seat, and began to laugh as they stared at a file on the desk.

“Upupu...”

 

_Sun's Joy Academy_

_Student Roster_

 

_Melissa Arthurs – Enhanced Talent Level Novelist_

_Andrew Cyrus – Enhanced Talent Level Racer_

_Chelsea Dennis – Enhanced Talent Level Ballerina_

_Naomi Fenne – Enhanced Talent Level Skater_

_Charlotte 'Charlie' Grath – Enhanced Talent Level Gardener_

_Nina Harrison – Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer_

_Shauna Kerzenna – Enhanced Talent Level Toy Maker_

_Joel Miller – Enhanced Talent Level Lifeguard_

_Dirk Parker – Enhanced Talent Level Hacker_

_Ben Raiser – Enhanced Talent Level Abstract Artist_

_Mark Sanders – Enhanced Talent Level Reporter_

_John Smith – Enhanced Talent Level Empath_

_Marian Tanner – Enhanced Talent Level Lawyer_

_Wyatt Temple – Enhanced Talent Level Fashion Designer_

_Ella Walker – Enhanced Talent Level Sound Engineer_

_Carlos Woods – Enhanced Talent Level Blogger_

 

These were the sixteen names of those who would carry the hopes of the future on their backs. And whilst they were a cut above the rest of society, none of them would come to the academy prepared for what faced them. 

It was despair in its purest form.

 


	2. First Arrivals

Early morning sunlight broke over the horizon, colouring the Pacific Ocean a brilliant red colour. There was no cloud in the sky, allowing for the beautiful hues to be visible clearly. For the passengers of the sixteen helicopters currently flying towards a large island containing the campus of Sun's Joy Academy, it was a good omen that their upcoming year was going to be amazing. 

Melissa leaned back in her seat, adjusting her seat belt as she looked out of the window. The sound of the whirring helicopter blades above her head was almost therapeutic. However, despite the serene atmosphere, Melissa found her mind whirring away. Her fingers twitched over the keys of her laptop, the word processor open. The white blank page stared at her, but that was okay. Her goal was to write a novel before the end of the school year, with it ready to be sent away to a publisher's before the next year began. Of course, this was nothing special considering how she already had completed a young adult dystopian trilogy over the space of two and a half years with film rights set to be discussed this winter. And luckily, the scene presented in front of her would make for the perfect opening to a book. Currently, the genres that were bouncing around in her brain included disaster, murder mystery, and straight-up horror. However, the only problem was that it would be hard to get global marketing on those genres, due to the recent terrorist disasters in Japan known merely as the Most Despairing Event in the History of Mankind. It was kind of dramatic, but the media would look down on her as being insensitive if she were to write anything that even remotely resembled what happened over there. Even though very little was actually being disclosed about the event in question. Whatever. Melissa knew she would still have a chance; she was just grateful that she wasn't born early enough for her to begin writing around the time of the 9/11 crisis. Nobody would have even looked at her book the moment they came across the first mention of a gun.

But for now, Melissa would have time away from the high-pressure media world, and would be able to balance education, writing, and a new social life. Previously, she had been somewhat of an outcast – her peers had alienated her, and Melissa had been too withdrawn with writing to really interact with people. Sure, she had been successful, but Melissa knew she was missing out on a major part of development. And hopefully, this academy would offer her the perfect social environment. After all, only the Enhanced Talent Levels, or ETLs, would be getting in. They were all students who had gone above and beyond in their respective fields. From the website, Melissa had seen a huge array of personalities. Some students seemed on a whole other level; Melissa had been especially impressed with the ballerina and lawyer. She knew from her research that they were very vicious worlds to live in, and felt only respect for them. And then there were those that were surprising, such as a hacker and a toy maker. They were a little unusual, but it just went to show how varied the world was. Overall, Melissa was looking forward to the new school year, and getting to know these people.

Melissa looked out of the window again, and saw the island drawing up closer. The pilot of the helicopter turned around, and looked at her.

“Hey, miss,” he said. “We're almost there, so get your stuff ready.”

“Of course!” Melissa said enthusiastically. She snapped her laptop shut, and placed it in her messenger bag. The rest of her luggage had already been sent to the academy as per arrangement, but Melissa's bag and laptop never left her side. She then adjusted her seat belt again, tightening it.

“Prepare for a sudden drop,” the pilot said, before turning around, and beginning to lower the helicopter. Melissa looked out of her window in awe as they descended towards the landing pad. She saw the beautiful beach that surrounded the island, along with the palm trees that dotted the land. And in the middle of the island was its heart: the large campus of Sun's Joy Academy. The name was a little cheesy, but the reputation far exceeded the odd choice of name. And besides, it would probably grow on Melissa throughout the year.

The helicopter came to a stop, landing on the landing pad. The blades continued to whir for a few more minutes, before they slowed to a stop. The pilot then left the helicopter, and walked around to Melissa's door, opening it. She unstrapped herself from her seat, and climbed out of the helicopter, offering a quiet “Thanks” as she did so. Her running shoes touched the light grey concrete below, and she breathed in the slightly salty sea air. A light breeze generated by the helicopter made her pencil skirt ripple a little. It almost felt like Melissa was on vacation instead of about to start school, but that was all part of the experience. It would definitely help with the general environment of the academy; already Melissa felt her anxieties over the academy fade away, instead being replaced with a sense of wonder.

“The academy's just down this road,” the pilot said, pointing to Melissa's right. She looked, and saw a road surrounded by palm trees. At the end, she could see the large gates of Sun's Joy Academy. A smile crossed her face, and her green eyes lit up with joy. “It's a five minute walk. So enjoy the scenery, and have a good year.”

“Thank you,” Melissa said, smiling. She then turned away from the pilot, and began to walk down the road, adjusting her blonde hair, fixing the ponytail it was tied in. Once completed, her hair fell down her back, resting comfortably on her light green cardigan placed above a white blouse. Melissa had thought long and hard about her choice of outfit, and had decided this would help make the best impression possible.

She looked up, seeing the sun shining down on the bright green palm leaves, creating a soft shade over the road. The island was quiet and peaceful, and for a moment, Melissa could hear the soft sound of the waves washing up on the shore. But then the whirring sound of the helicopter started up and Melissa looked behind her to see the pilot taking off, vanishing into the early morning sky. But just as soon as Melissa's helicopter vanished, she saw another one fly over her head, landing on the other side of the island. She wondered which student was inside the helicopter, and whether or not she would get along with them. Just thinking about meeting the students was filling her with excitement, and Melissa began to pick up the pace as she walked along the road. Her bag swung around as she sped up, but the laptop remained secure and safe. Hopefully Melissa would be able to access her new room straight away, so that she could put her laptop on charge before meeting her fellow students.

In front of Melissa, the golden gates of the academy drew closer, almost beckoning her to them. She slowed down, blushing. This was no way to enter the academy! She had to perfectly showcase her personality to the other students so they would get the best impression possible. In a way, it was like writing the introduction chapter of a novel: she had to reveal enough about herself to get their attention without dumping every last detail of her life straight away. It would be kind of boring, and might put off some of the students from really talking to her. Melissa smoothed her blouse, and walked towards the gates again, this time at a slower pace. The bag barely moved by her side, looking perfectly like a fashion accessory. The beige colour of the bag did make her legs look paler than Melissa would have liked, and she felt rather conscious about it, but decided that she wouldn't waste her time on anyone who was only looking at her for her legs.

Melissa took another step forward, and found herself standing right in front of the gates. She peered through the bars, and saw a tall building behind a large fountain. There were also rows of flower beds lining the path, and she could see a few more buildings surrounding the main building. She recalled the campus map, and realised that what she could see was only a small portion of what was on offer. She couldn't wait. Her gaze then drifted to the large brick wall surrounding the site, and saw an intercom built into the wall; it reminded her of the drive-thru screens in fast food restaurants. She walked up to the screen, and as she did so, it buzzed to life, showing the academy's crest: a golden sun on a shield, with the phrase _Mane oritur sol radium spei_ written on it. Melissa wasn't the best at languages, but from what she could gather, it said something to the effect of _Rays of hope come in on the morning sun_. It was a profound statement, and she felt joy welling up inside her. This was truly a cut above the rest.

“ _Welcome to Sun's Joy Academy!_ ” A strange, childish cartoon-like voice suddenly burst out from the speaker, catching Melissa's attention. “ _Please insert your Student Pass into the slot below the screen!_ ”

“Oh! Okay!” Melissa said, smiling. She reached into her cardigan, and pulled out a slip of paper with an image of her, along with information such as her name, date of birth, and ETL. There was a bar code on the bottom of the piece of paper, and Melissa fed it into the machine. The screen changed colour, showing an image of Melissa, with a caption underneath. It read, “Melissa Arthurs: ETL Novelist.” Melissa stared at it for a moment, letting it sink in. She was a registered student. It was really happening.

“ _Please take your ElectroID from the dispenser tray below the screen! Enjoy your time here at Sun's Joy Academy!_ ” Melissa watched as a small electronic PDA was dispensed into a tray below the screen. She bent down, and grabbed it. There was a small power switch on the device, and Melissa switched it on, seeing the academy's crest appear in the screen before it was replaced with the same image of Melissa that had been on the larger screen moments before (it had turned off now). She lightly tapped the screen, and opened up an options menu, with several headers such as 'Academy Rules' and 'About Your ElectroID'. Melissa pressed the 'About Your ElectroID' button, and read through the following text.

**Your ElectroID is your personal form of identification. You can use it to view important information about the academy, such as the rules and timetables, as well as updates throughout the school year. It is important to note that your ElectroID serves as a key – you can use it to access areas such as your dorm room, the bathrooms, and changing rooms. Also, please note that only your own ElectroID will be able to be used to unlock your dorm room, so try not to lose it!**

Melissa smiled at the information. The staff here sure had everything figured out. And as she held the ElectroID in her hands, Melissa knew that her bag would gain one more electronic device to carry around. She looked back at the screen, about to select the 'Academy Rules' button, when a groaning noise sounded out. She turned her head to see the golden gates swing open, revealing the campus of Sun's Joy Academy. Melissa placed the ElectroID into her cardigan pocket, and stood there for a moment, in awe. It was finally time to begin her new life. A sense of excited anticipation filled Melissa, and she found herself unable to keep collected. She was soon speed-walking through the gates, entering the campus.

As Melissa walked down the path, she took in her surroundings. The path was lined with flowerbeds, but some areas had yet to see blooming plants. Smaller paths branched off from the main path to allow someone to walk through the flowerbeds and enjoy their surroundings. It looked like it would definitely turn out to be quite the romantic setting, and for a moment, Melissa pictured herself walking past the flowers with a boy, hand-in-hand. She quickly shook the silly thought from her mind, and instead looked elsewhere. She spotted two buildings to her right; one was quite small, but the other was larger and more dome shaped. It was probably some kind of sporting facility. Perhaps it was a swimming pool or something. That would be nice. The smaller one looked less modern, and more like a small cabin or something. It probably contained a few classrooms or something. Melissa looked to her left, and saw three more buildings. One looked like a miniature apartment building with a large set of revolving doors serving as the entrance. Another one was a fairly average-sized building, albeit with several windows. The last building, however, caught Melissa's attention. It was large, and looked more like a traditional building. But Melissa _knew_ this type of building when she saw it: it was a library. This was all before she saw the large book sign hanging above the entrance. Immediately she knew where she would be spending most of her free time.

Melissa looked away from the buildings, and looked ahead as the large fountain drew closer. Water spilled from the top, splashing into the area surrounding it, creating for a beautiful effect. She stepped around it, careful to avoid getting herself wet, and continued along the path, up to the front doors of the main building. Looking up, Melissa saw how tall it truly was, and wondered why they would need to build something so large if there were then smaller buildings scattered around the campus. Perhaps the number of students attending was large enough that they required this extra space. Whatever the reason, Melissa decided it would be for a good reason. She stepped forwards, and pushed open the doors to the academy, stepping inside.

The hallway Melissa was now in was pleasantly lit, and as she walked forwards, noticing the classrooms lining the walls, she realised how immaculate this place was. It was nothing like her old high school. It truly was a different world altogether. Melissa glanced through the windows of the classroom doors, and saw that the rooms were empty. The teachers were probably all hanging around wherever Melissa was supposed to go. She looked away from the classrooms, and at the end of the hallway, found a sign on a stand with writing on it, reading “This way to the meeting hall!! ==>”. Melissa found it a little odd, but at least it was telling her where to go. She turned right, and continued down another hallway. More classrooms lined the walls, but at the far end was a large set of double doors. Melissa walked towards the doors, and upon reaching them, she pushed them open, stepping into the meeting hall.

Melissa stood there for a moment, taking in the meeting hall. It was a large room with several chairs set out. At the far end of the hall was a stage with a podium on it, but it was currently empty. Melissa then noticed a few other students standing around before the stage, engaging in conversation. A sudden surge of anxiety filled her, and she found herself frozen. Her socially awkward self suddenly rose up from the depths of her mind, and threatened to ruin yet another chance at getting a social life. No, she was not going to let this happen. Not this time. Melissa took a step forward before she could change her mind, heading closer to the other students, when suddenly, something descended from above, landing in her face.

“Boo!”

Melissa screamed as a small puppet dangled in front of her eyes whimsically. It had long, floppy limbs supported by strings, and the mouth moved separately. The puppet also was wearing a little black suit, complete with tiny dress shoes. But despite this analysis, Melissa felt her heart pounding as it stared at her, reminding her of one too many late-night horror movies. She took a step back, and bumped into something behind her.

“Oh my god!” Melissa exclaimed as she turned around, seeing another student standing behind her. “I'm so sorry!”

“It's fine!” she replied enthusiastically. She was a small girl, with dark skin and dark hair done up in a large braid. Two red ribbons adorned her hair, and she was wearing a white floral top with a denim skirt and black pumps. “I didn't mean for Cammy here to scare you!” The girl motioned to the puppet which was being suspended by strings she was holding. Melissa quickly managed to gather herself, and let out a laugh.

“It's quite fine,” she said. “Just give me warning next time!”

“I will!” the girl said. She then extended a hand. “Name's Shauna: ETL Toy Maker!”

“I'm Melissa,” Melissa said. “ETL Novelist.”

“Wow!” Shauna exclaimed, holding the puppet she called Cammy in her arms. “That's so cool! I've actually read your books! They were awesome!”

“You think so?” Melissa said, surprised at how easy it was to make conversation.

“Yeah!” Shauna said, full of energy. “Anyway, Melissa, have you talked with the others yet?”

“No,” Melissa said. “I've just arrived, actually.”

“Haha, me too,” Shauna said, clutching Cammy tightly. “And anyway, you seem like a nice girl. How about we go meet the others together?”

“I don't see why not,” Melissa said.

“Great!” Shauna exclaimed, walking past Melissa. “Let's go!”

Melissa smiled to herself as she followed Shauna down the hall. The girl sure was a lively one, and from this brief meeting, Melissa assumed she would be the type to be friends with everyone; the go-to gal for the crowd of the talented. Already she knew the social dynamic would be harmonious, provided there weren't any particularly strong personalities that would clash with Shauna's air of positivity. Most likely there wouldn't be, but Melissa's inner pessimist told her to expect some form of disappointment. However, she swallowed these thoughts, and quickly caught up with Shauna as they approached the group of students.

In total, there were maybe five or six of them standing together, lost in conversation. Melissa was once again won over by the wonderful atmosphere, but Shauna didn't take notice, and began to stride towards the others, a large grin plastered on her face. But before either of them could reach the rest of the group, a figure walked up to them.

“Hello there!” he said as he approached. “May I have the honour of interviewing two lovely ETL ladies?” Melissa found his entire attitude charmingly engaging. He was holding a video camera in one hand, and a microphone in the other. He had fair skin with slightly messy dark hair, and wide blue eyes. His attire consisted of a white dress shirt partially unbuttoned with a black tie hanging around his neck, black pants, and most surprisingly, a pair of red running shoes. But before Melissa could respond to his request, Shauna jumped at the opportunity.

“Of course!” she said. “I'm Shauna: ETL Toy Maker, and this is my friend, Melissa! She's the ETL Novelist, by the way!”

“Ah, I see!” he replied, smiling warmly. Melissa smiled back. “I'm Mark, the ETL Reporter, at your service.”

“I thought your face was familiar...” Melissa said wistfully. “Hey. Weren't you part of the team that reported on the despair disaster in Japan?”

“The one and only,” Mark replied, flashing a grin. “That was what landed me my invitation to this academy in the first place.” He motioned to the microphone. “Anyway, enough about me: how did you two get in?”

“Me?” Melissa said as Mark placed the microphone closer to her. “It's because of that dystopian trilogy I concluded last year. You know, the one addressing the themes of nature versus technology? Film rights set for next year?”

“Oh my god!” Mark said. “I love those books! I feel like I'm in the presence of a real-life celebrity!”

“Oh, stop it,” Melissa said, laughing. “I'm only here to study, not to lord my best-sellers over you all.”

“And what a humble attitude!” Mark exclaimed. “It truly shows what an amazing person you are!” He then turned to face Shauna. “And what about you, Shauna? What landed you in Sun's Joy?”  
“It was pretty simple!” Shauna said. “Last holiday period, the local toy store near my home had a crisis, and I was called in to help. I ended up making thirty nine individualised toys for all the kids that day. And for most of them, it was their favourite gift! After that, an invitation just slipped into my mail like magic, and here I am!”

“Well, if that isn't ETL worthy then I don't know what is!” Mark said, chuckling as he pulled the microphone away from Shauna. “A real life Miss Santa Claus!”

“Now you're just being flattering,” Shauna said, adjusting Cammy in her arms. “But I'm glad you like us! And may I ask why you're filming us?”

“It's simple!” Mark said. “I want to capture every moment of this year, and see how we all change and grow as people.”

“So kind of like a documentary?” Melissa said.

“Exactly,” Mark replied. “My first goal is to interview each student before the semester officially begins, and interview everyone again a couple of weeks later to gain a general consensus on how the academy is.”

“That sounds pretty neat!” Shauna said. “Have you interviewed anyone else yet?”

“As a matter of fact, I have!” Mark said proudly. “So far, besides you two, I've interviewed the ETL Fashion Designer, the ETL Skater, and the ETL Lifeguard. They all seem just as friendly as you two, and I'm sure we'll all get along great!”

“I hope so,” Melissa said. “It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to make some friends.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Mark said. Melissa noticed he was looking off into the distance. His eyes lit up, and Melissa knew he had found another student to interview. “Now if you don't mind, I've got a few more people to interview! See you around!”

“See you!” Shauna said, waving. She pulled a couple of strings, and made Cammy wave too. The puppet still made Melissa feel uneasy, but she put it to one side. Shauna was a nice girl, and it would be entirely unprofessional to judge her by her hobbies.

“We still have the other students over there to talk to,” Melissa said, pointing towards the stage.

“You're right!” Shauna said. Her face burst into a wide grin. “Let's go make more friends.”

The two girls had barely made it to the small crowd before someone came speeding towards them.

“Watch out!” she exclaimed. Melissa moved out of the way, but Shauna was too slow to move, and found herself crashing to the ground along with the high-speed girl. Cammy fell from her arms, and launched through the air. Melissa expertly caught the puppet, and set it down on a seat. Cammy's head slumped into its shoulder, and it stared lifelessly at the stage.

“Hey, be careful next time!” Shauna groaned as she pulled herself up, straightening her ribbons out.

“Oh my god, I'm all kinds of sorry!” the other girl responded, standing up. She was a tall and thin Asian girl with tanned skin and long dark hair tied up in a high ponytail. The ends of her hair were dyed in the colours of the rainbow. She was wearing an unzipped leather jacket, dyed deep blue. Underneath the jacket was a black vest top with a graphic print of what Melissa could only assume was a K-Pop boy band. As well as this, she wore a pair of low-cut cycling shorts, and a pair of roller skates over a pair of knee-high rainbow socks. She certainly appeared to be a quirky character. “I swear that I will definitely not be doing something like that again!”

“It's fine, really!” Shauna said, laughing. The other girl laughed too. “I'm Shauna, and I'm the ETL Toy Maker.”

“Haha, that sounds rad as hell!” the other girl said. “I'm Naomi: ETL Skater!” She struck a pose, placing a hand on her hips, and winking.

“You sure have planned out that introduction, haven't you?” Melissa said absently.

“Of course I have!” Naomi replied. She flashed a wide smile, and Melissa awkwardly returned the sentiment, overwhelmed by the explosive personality. “I need to make the greatest impression possible!”

“You've certainly left an impression on me,” Melissa said dryly.

“Anyway,” Naomi said, dragging out the vowels. “I don't think I caught your ETL, so do you mind filling a girl in?”

“Oh, sure!” Melissa said. “I'm Melissa, the ETL Novelist.”

“Whoa!” Naomi said. She flashed another huge smile. “That's awesome! I wish I could write a book! I've tried a few times, but I always kept getting distracted.”

“Writing takes a lot of time, dedication, and patience,” Melissa said. “It's not something to step lightly into.”

“Ain't that the truth!” Naomi said. “Anyway, I'll catch you two girls later: I've gotta go meet some other cool peeps!”

Both Melissa and Shauna watched as Naomi skated down the hall, giggling as she did so.

“She was certainly interesting,” Shauna said. “Maybe a bit too much to hang around with all the time.”

“She seems nice enough though,” Melissa said. “Oh, by the way, I put your puppet on one of the chairs.”

“Thanks!” Shauna said, retrieving Cammy.

“Hey, is that a puppet?” a voice called out. Shauna and Melissa turned their heads to see a boy with short brown hair walking up to them. He was wearing a white t-shirt with a pair of jeans and running shoes. He looked fairly average compared to everyone else Melissa had seen so far.

“Yeah!” Shauna replied. “Isn't he awesome?”

“He sure is!” the boy replied. He also looked at Melissa. “I suppose I should introduce myself, then. I'm John Smith: ETL Empath.”

“John Smith?” Melissa questioned. “There's no way that's your real name.”

“Afraid so!” John replied. “My parents thought it was neat: give an incredibly ordinary name to someone who is anything but!”

“And may I ask just what your ETL entails?” Melissa asked.

“Sure!” John said. “Being an empath means that basically, I can easily put myself into anyone's shoes at any given moment, as well as being able to sense emotions perfectly.”

“Really?” Shauna said. “So it's sort of like a psychologist?”

“Kind of,” John said. “And if you introduce yourselves, I'll give you a demonstration of my talent!”

“Okay then!” Shauna said. “I'm Shauna: ETL Toy Maker!”

“I'm Melissa,” Melissa said. “I'm the ETL Novelist.”

“Cool!” John said, laughing. “Now, as promised, I'll give a demonstration. Just be aware that I may get a little too personal.”

“That's fine!” Shauna said. “We're all trying to be open with each other, anyway!”

“All right then!” John said. “So, I'll do Melissa first. Based on my assumptions, it is safe to say that you are enthusiastic about interacting with people, but have inner doubts that could almost be classified as social anxieties if you didn't keep them in check as good as you do. As well as this, you are currently viewing these meetings as some form of character study, and you are evaluating everyone as you would a character in a book. And, I'm also detecting hints of some form of attraction.” John winked at that last comment, and Melissa blushed.

“If it helps, it's not you,” she said airily, fiddling with her bag's strap to draw the attention away from herself.

“I know that,” John said. “Your attraction wasn't showing when I was talking to you, so it's clearly some other guy in here.” He looked at Melissa, and quickly added, “Or girl, if that's who you like.”

“Who I like is none of your business,” Melissa said. “Affairs of the heart are private, deeply personal things. If it's important, I'll discuss it with you.”

“Fine,” John said. “Sorry for the awkwardness.”

“Oh!” Shauna said. “Are you gonna do me now?”

“Of course!” John said. “Shauna, based on my assumptions, you are a naturally social girl with a kind heart at your core. However, you have the slightest of insecurities about meeting new people, mainly revolving around rejection. As such, you have flocked to Melissa, a more introverted person as a support of sorts as you believe that she will be loyal to you no matter what.”

“Wow!” Shauna exclaimed, causing Cammy to move somewhat. “How do you do that? Are you sure you're not actually the ETL Psychologist?”

“Positive,” John said. “Psychology is more about thought processes and mental disorders. I'm all about inferring from emotions. I suppose I could be a good counsellor if I put my mind to it though...”

“Well, whatever,” Melissa said. “That talent of yours sure is something. Nice meeting you.”

“Likewise,” John said. “Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go check out the dorms, and find where I'm staying.”

“But they haven't done the welcoming ceremony yet!” Shauna said.

“Take a look at the podium on the stage,” John said. “You'll see that we have plenty of time to spare before then.”

Before Shauna could ask what John had meant, he had already walked away, heading out of the main doors.

“Might as well see what he was on about,” Melissa said, taking the lead. Shauna followed her as they walked past a few students, and up to the podium. Melissa paused in front of the podium, seeing a note taped onto it.

_Attention students of Sun's Joy Academy. In accordance with tradition, you will all be given a two-day period to become familiar with your new home, and to become acquainted with your peers before the welcoming ceremony. Free reign of the campus will be given at this time, so make yourselves at home!!_

Melissa raised an eyebrow at this. She certainly wasn't expecting that, but the logic behind it made perfect sense. With the two-day inauguration period, the students would really get to know the academy, and would be able to comfortably begin their studies. Once again Melissa found herself respecting the academy more and more.

“Well, that's a little dumb,” Shauna said. “My acceptance letter said that the welcome ceremony would begin shortly after my arrival.”

“Oh well,” Melissa said. “It doesn't really matter, does it? It just means we get more time to become familiar with everything like it says.”

“I suppose you're right,” Shauna said. “And besides, that way I'll be on good terms with everyone before the semester even begins!” Melissa smiled at Shauna, and let out a light laugh. This was truly the best place she had been to in years.

Melissa turned around, and saw another student walking up to the pair. She was a tall girl, who was dressed in an immaculate grey suit and tie. In her hand was a briefcase. Melissa also noted that the girl had shoulder-length chocolate brown hair that really set off her appearance.

“Hello there!” she said.

“Hi!” Shauna replied, seeing the girl.

“You two must be the ETL Toy Maker and Novelist, right?” she asked.

“That's right,” Melissa said. “I'm the Novelist, and Shauna here's the Toy Maker.”

“Excellent!” the girl replied. “I tend to have a hunch for identifying people.”

“Speaking of which,” Shauna said. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I must have forgotten to introduce myself!” the girl said. “I'm Marian, the ETL Lawyer.”

“Nice to meet you,” Melissa said. As she spoke, Marian took her hand, shaking it firmly.

“Likewise,” Marian said. “It's a shame about the postponing of the welcoming ceremony though, isn't it?”

“I wouldn't say so,” Melissa said. “It's enough time for us to form social bonds and learn the layout of the campus. That way we will all be able to start our studies without any distractions.”

“True, true,” Marian said. “It's just that I've been waiting so long for this day to finally arrive, and finding out I have two more days until it really begins is somewhat disappointing. But anyway, how are you girls finding the academy so far?”

“It's great!” Shauna replied. “Well, I haven't seen anything except for the main entrance, and I've only talked to a couple of students, but it's the best place I've ever seen!”

“I have to agree with you there,” Marian said, smiling. Her briefcase swayed by her side.

“Hey, what's in the case?” Shauna said. “If you don't mind me asking, that is.”

“Oh, here!” Marian said. “Let's sit down at one of the seats, and I'll show you!”

Melissa and Shauna followed Marian to one of the seats. They sat down next to her, and watched as she opened up the briefcase, revealing several files.

“What are these?” Melissa asked.

“Just what I call my portfolio,” Marian said. “It's a compilation of my favourite court cases I've taken part in, as well as my information sheets on all of you guys.”

“You sure did your research then,” Shauna said, taking her own file from the briefcase. “You probably know the most about all of us at the moment!”

“Probably,” Marian said. “But of course there's the ETL Empath. He'd probably be able to pin you down to a T within two minutes of observation.”

“You're not far from the truth there,” Shauna said.

“Really?” Marian asked.

“Yeah!” Shauna said. “He gave both me and Melissa a crazy accurate analysis of our personalities!”

“Sounds about right,” Marian said. “Apparently he got into this academy because he managed to solve the case of a serial killer. You've heard of Sunshine Sally right?”

“The girl that carved a sun pattern into her victims, correct?” Shauna said.

“The very same,” Marian confirmed. “The ETL Empath managed to perfectly see through her eyes, and predicted her next target, along with the time and location. The guy's a genius. And a neat little piece of information: I was the one who proved she was guilty of the murders.” Melissa found herself realising that perhaps John wasn't as average as she had thought.

“So you two know each other?” she said.

“Sort of,” Marian said. “We worked together on a few more cases, but then we kind of drifted apart after the major cases died down. Today's the first time I've seen him in ages.”

“Well isn't that a good coincidence!” Shauna said. “At least you've come here already knowing someone.”

“I suppose,” Marian said. She took Shauna's file back, and placed it in the briefcase, closing it. “Anyway, I've spent enough time talking. I'm going to go put this briefcase of mine in my dorm room.”

“All right then,” Melissa said. She offered a smile. “See you around.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. She stood up from her seat, and then she was gone.

Melissa looked over at Shauna, who was smoothing over Cammy's suit.

“Hey,” she said. “Is there anyone we haven't spoken to in here yet?”

“I think there are a couple more people,” Shauna said. “I suppose everyone else already arrived and they're now exploring the campus, which I can't wait to do.”

“Me neither,” Melissa said.

“I reckon this place'll feel like home in no time,” Shauna said with a smile as she stood up from her seat. “Anyway, let's go meet the others!”

Melissa and Shauna walked through the hall together, towards the stage where a couple of students still stood. The first they approached was a boy around Melissa's height with close-cropped black hair and grey eyes. He was wearing a red hoodie with a black and white checked scarf, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black boots. Melissa also noticed that he had a pair of golden stud earrings in.

“Hey!” Shauna said, approaching the boy.

“Uh, hi,” he said. He offered a friendly smile to the two girls. “Who are you?”

“I'm Shauna!” Shauna said. “The ETL Toy Maker!”

“And your friend?”

“I'm Melissa,” Melissa said. “I'm the ETL Novelist.”

“Ah, cool,” he said, adjusting his scarf. “I'm Andrew: ETL Racer.”

“Like race-cars and stuff?” Shauna asked.

Andrew smiled. “Exactly like that. I have twenty five golden trophies to my name, so it's safe to say I'm good at it.”

“Well,” Melissa said. “You sure aren't what I expected.”

“What do you mean?” Andrew asked.

“I was expecting someone a little more abrasive and dynamic,” Melissa said. “Not someone like you.”

“Well, I like to break expectations,” Andrew said, chuckling.

“Yeah,” Melissa said. “Sorry if I offended you.”

“None taken!”Andrew said. “Anyway, can you believe we get two days before we begin our studies? It's brilliant!”

“I wasn't expecting it,” Melissa said. “So what will you be doing over the following two days?”

“Oh, you know,” Andrew said. “I'll be checking out all the facilities, and I'll be getting to know as many people as possible.”

“That's pretty similar to what we have planned,” Melissa said. “I guess quite a few of us will be taking the opportunity to get to know everything and everyone.”

“It's a wise choice,” Andrew said. “It really cuts down on uncertainties about stuff.”

“That it does,” Melissa said. “Hopefully you find someone you'll get along with.”

“I hope so,” Andrew said. “But I'm just worried about my famed status putting people off.”

“Uh, no offence,” Shauna said. “But we're all pretty much of celebrity status here anyway.”

“Haha, true,” Andrew said. “I didn't mean to sound that stuck-up, though.” He then looked past the two girls. “Hey, is he gone yet?”

“Who?” Shauna asked.

“The ETL Reporter,” Andrew said with a groan. “He provided coverage for one of my big races a couple years back, and he's been trying to interview me all morning.”

“Yeah, we've met the guy,” Shauna said. “He's not that bad, actually!”

“He's a little up-front,” Melissa said. “But really, I think he just wants to make this as memorable as possible.”

“Huh,” Andrew said. “I just assumed he was like a mad paparazzi type. I guess I'll try to talk to him then.”

“If you get the chance,” Shauna said. “He's literally trying to interview everyone for this documentary thing he's doing throughout the year.”

“Sounds fun, actually,” Andrew said. “Perhaps I'll check it out. See you girls later!” He then walked away from the girls, heading towards the main doors. Most of the students were, actually, since they had very little reason to hang around.

Shauna watched as Andrew joined a small crowd of students, leaving the hall.

“I guess we should leave, too,” she told Melissa. “We might as well check out the other places on campus.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Melissa said. “Let's go then.” The two of them began to walk across the hall, heading towards the doors. But before they made it, someone bumped into them from behind. Melissa turned around to see a boy standing there.

“I'm sorry about that,” he said. He was taller than Melissa, and had spiked-up dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a white polo shirt under an orange hoodie that was partially zipped up, a pair of camouflage-style combat pants, and a pair of boots. There was a pair of headphones resting around his neck, the wire plugged into a PDA in his hand.

“Is that your ElectroID?” Shauna asked, motioning to it.

“Not at all,” he said. “This is my personal PDA. Never leave home without it.”

“That's cool,” Shauna said. “So where's your ElectroID?”

“In my dorm room,” he said. “I don't really need it; the necessary software on the thing's been transferred to this baby right here.” Shauna looked at him, impressed. He gave a bashful smile. “And who are you two?”

“I'm Shauna: ETL Toy Maker,” Shauna said.

“Melissa: ETL Novelist,” Melissa said.

“Cool,” he said. “I'm Dirk: ETL Hacker.”

“Interesting ETL,” Melissa said. “Not something you'd normally advocate for an esteemed academy.”

“Well, I think we can gather everything about this place is unorthodox as hell,” Dirk replied smoothly. He pressed a few more buttons on his PDA, sighing. “Great.”

“What?” Shauna asked.

“There's no internet,” Dirk said. “I've been trying all day, but there just doesn't seem to be any Wi-Fi signal anywhere.”

“Strange,” Melissa said. “Perhaps it's taking a while to set it all up.”

“I hope that's all,” Dirk said. “Because I feel isolated without constant internet connection.”

“I guess you can't do much hacking if you can't gain access to the internet,” Shauna said.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. He shrugged. “Hopefully when lessons begin we'll get the internet back.”

“Why not just ask someone about it?” Shauna suggested.

“I've tried,” Dirk said, shaking his head. “There doesn't seem to be anyone on campus except for us ETLs.”

“Really?” Melissa said. “That's odd.”

“Probably so we can get along without having to worry about their interference or something stupid,” Dirk said.

“In that case, perhaps cutting off the Wi-Fi was a deliberate movement?” Melissa said.

“What makes you think that?” Dirk asked.

“Well, if they want us all to get to know each other, they'll want to eliminate as many distractions as possible,” Melissa explained. “Hence the lack of internet. It'll probably be all fine after the welcoming ceremony, though.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” Dirk said. “It's kind of a dumb move, forcing us to all interact. You know, I bet that there's at least one person here with crippling anxiety that's withering away without the escape of the internet.”

“And you're not?” Melissa said.

“Just pissed off,” Dirk said. “I was just screwing around with the US military servers, making the files do some funny crap like displaying 'My true love is the president's ding-a-ling.' That sort of stuff.”

“You do know that's enough to land you in serious trouble, right?” Melissa said, shocked by Dirk's nature.

“Well, we're not exactly in the US, are we?” Dirk said with a light chuckle. “The complications to extradite me there wouldn't be worth it. And besides, I'm technically a minor, so what can they really do?”

“They could stick you in a young offenders' or something,” Melissa said.

“I doubt it,” Dirk said. “They owe me after I gave them a file-dump from the Middle Eastern government servers to prevent a terrorist attack.”

“What?” Melissa exclaimed.

“Turns out a few of our friends out there are in on the whole Despair organisation,” Dirk said. “Probably offered enough money to crawl out of the debt holes they've fallen into. Anyway, turned out they were planning to offer the Despair group their nuclear weapons to bring the US to its knees or something.” He let out a small laugh. “Probably to make the damn country feel true despair or whatever BS that organisation spouts.”

“You sure are something, you know?” Melissa said.

“I established that myself some time ago,” Dirk said.

“Yes you did,” Melissa said.

“Anyway,” Dirk said. “They'd better put up the Wi-Fi before the welcoming ceremony. There's something I have to do.”

“What?” Melissa asked, already dreading the answer.

“Just get back at them for denying me internet access for two freaking days,” Dirk said. “I'm planning on finding their crappy Powerpoint that they no doubt made in advance, and changing the text to eye-bleeding Comic Sans in the most god-awful colours imaginable. Oh, and whatever 'inspirational' song they've got lined up for us to endure? I've got something way better.” A mischievous smile crossed Dirk's face, and he unplugged his headphones from the PDA, causing a song to explode from the speakers.

_Pon pon wei wei wei_

_Pon pon wei pon wei pon pon_

_Wei wei pon pon pon_

_Wei wei pon wei pon wei wei_

Melissa groaned instantly. “That song, really?”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “See how they like that, huh?”

“For the love of god, please turn it off,” Melissa said as the song looped into the next verse.

“I thought you'd never ask.” Dirk quickly plugged the headphones in again, and the song vanished from Melissa's ears.

“I thought it was pretty cool!” Shauna said. She began to hum the tune, swaying to and fro. Melissa rolled her eyes at her friend, and... wait. A smile spread across Melissa's face as she realised that she had come to see Shauna as a friend.

“Well, I can appreciate it ironically,” Dirk said. “But even then, only if it's being used as a weapon against someone else.”

“Hey,” Melissa said. “If you have this attitude towards Sun's Joy, then why did you come here?”

“Believe me, I had no intention,” Dirk said. “I was fine staying home, when suddenly this helicopter lands in my drive, no joke. And then I sort of had no choice but to come.”

“Well, it's not as if you're going to regret it,” Melissa said. “Once you graduate from here, you're practically guaranteed the best positions in life.”

“True,” Dirk said. “But I'd have rather done it via online classes.”

“And miss out on the atmosphere?” Melissa said.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “Being around people is not really my thing, and this whole lack of internet is clearly the most impressive display.”

“Oh, lighten up,” Shauna said. “It'll be fun!”

“As fun as a bunch of crazy super talented teens can get,” Dirk said dryly. “I mean, seriously. Half of these guys are nuts as hell.”

“And you're not?” Melissa said tauntingly.

“Damn it,” Dirk said. “I should really learn to not diss things I'm a part of.”

“Good luck with that,” Melissa said. “Just be thankful you haven't had the ETL Empath probe your personality yet.”

“I'll pass,” Dirk said. Melissa couldn't help but laugh. “Hey, there's nothing funny coming from my mouth.”

“Whatever,” Melissa said, calming herself. “You seem like a cool guy, Dirk.”

“Thanks,” Dirk said. A smile crossed his face.

“Don't mention it,” Melissa said.

“Anyway,” Dirk said. “Since I've got nothing better to do, how about we go and check out the campus?”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Shauna said. She smiled at Melissa and Dirk. “Come on then, let's go!”

Dirk took the lead, and Melissa walked beside Shauna as they walked through the doors, leaving the hall behind for the moment. And as they headed down the hallway, Melissa realised just what she was going to write for the novel she was planning to write: a large, all-encompassing story, involving the students of Sun's Joy Academy. It would be the perfect homage to her new home, and her new friends. But for now, the story would have to wait; Melissa saw that Shauna and Dirk were walking ahead of her, and she quickly hurried after them. Before anything else, she had the rest of the campus to see, and more friends to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the first set of the ETL students! Hopefully they all stick out somewhat, and don't blur too much.


	3. Budding Friendships

Charlie walked down the hallway, her ElectroID in hand. The skylight above her was allowing sunlight down, lighting up her mousy brown hair. She could feel it on her head, and forced herself to feel less self-conscious. This morning, she had tried to select a decent outfit for today, but now she wasn't sure if it was really that good. The outfit in question consisted of a light green summer dress under an open white cardigan with white tights and black pumps. It was subtle, and didn't really draw attention to her, but Charlie was also worried she was making an understatement. The awkward crippling shyness of the past was supposed to have been buried, but after seeing the sign in the hall that there were two days until the welcoming ceremony, Charlie left before anyone could even talk to her.

And now, she was trying to find her dorm room, whilst trying to ignore the burning shame inside her. She was better than that. She should have been better than that. For crying out loud, she was the ETL Gardener! In no way was she the same girl she was before now: Sun's Joy was meant to be a whole new start. Yet even now, as these thoughts bounced through Charlie's head, she did not look back towards the hall. She couldn't bear to face her fellow students. From searching the forum boards online Charlie had seen the types of ETLs here, all of which proceeded to make her own talent seem worthless. Really, how could she compete with the likes of a computer hacker or an abstract artist? She couldn't.

A sigh escaped from Charlie's lips. In no was was this how she was expecting to spend her first day in the most esteemed of academies. When the helicopter first landed, Charlie's initial thought was that she'd be thrown into classes the moment she arrived, and wouldn't have time to worry about her social shortcomings. But after finding the notice that they had a two day period to become familiar with the campus, Charlie had even thought that she could perhaps try and befriend someone. And then the other ETLs began to arrive, thoroughly intimidating her. So she had left the hall without talking to a single soul. Very few actually noticed her there anyway.

The narrow hallway suddenly opened up, and Charlie looked around to see doors lining the walls. She walked over to the one closest to her right, and inspected it. It was a light cream colour, blending in with the wall. In the middle of the door was a sign with a blown up pixel image of someone. Beneath it there was a caption that read 'NAOMI FENNE: ETL SKATER'. Charlie looked closer at the image, but in no way could see any resemblance to the hyper bubbly girl down in the hall. However, at least this meant that she had found the dorm rooms. The only thing that bothered Charlie about this whole set-up was that the boys and girls had their rooms next to each other. But at the very least, everyone had their own room, so there was not going to be any room sharing, which was only good news to Charlie. She no longer had to worry about having to share her living space with a stranger that would most likely end up giving her a panic attack by merely engaging in conversation with her.

But anyway, this room did not happen to be Charlie's, and she quickly turned away from the door, continuing down the hallway. Luckily, she soon found her room: the fourth door on the left. She walked up to it, and saw another blown up pixel image. This time, it was of herself. She looked at the caption which read 'CHARLOTTE GRATH: ETL GARDENER' and sighed. Of course they had to use her embarrassing full name. Charlie was certain that once the semester actually began she'd speak to someone about changing the sign on her door; she hated being called Charlotte. Mostly it was because it stemmed from being the name exclusively used by her overbearing mother when scolding her during her childhood, and memories of being the new kid in school, when the teacher would read out Charlie's full name. And of course, Charlie did not bother to correct most of her old teachers on this as she found the feat of speaking to them nigh-impossible. And here she was supposed to escape all that.

Charlie grabbed the door handle, and pulled on it. The door did not budge. She stepped back from the door, and saw a small rectangular slot underneath the handle. It read 'Place ElectroID here'. Of course; how did Charlie forget that the ElectroID was the key to her room? Ignoring the feeling of embarrassment, Charlie placed the ElectroID in the slot.

_Bleep-bleep!_

The sound of a lock being turned reached Charlie's ears once the bleeping had stopped. She took her ElectroID out of the slot, and gripped the door handle, pushing the door open. Charlie quickly stepped inside her room, closing the door behind her.

Charlie's room consisted of a bed against the wall to her right made with white bedsheets, a desk and a closet to her left, a large window in front of her that offered a view of the palm trees outside, and several plants on the windowsill. She walked towards the window, and found another door next to the closet. It was half-open, and Charlie quickly opened it all the way, taking in the contents. It was the bathroom. In no way was it some sort of luxury suite, but it was pretty good. There was a sink and mirror on one side of the room, a toilet against the far wall, and a shower on the other side. It was also pretty spacious compared to what Charlie was used to. But she didn't have any real need to be in here, so she quickly stepped out, and returned to her main room.

Upon returning to the room, Charlie quickly noticed something on her bed: several suitcases. She breathed a sigh of relief: they had kept to their word, and had delivered her luggage in advance. Charlie walked over to the bed, and grabbed a small, pink suitcase, opening it up. Inside was her laptop, along with the charger and a few books. Charlie grabbed the laptop and charger, and carried them across the room onto the desk. She found a plug socket beside the desk, and plugged the charger in, attaching it to her laptop. She then sat down on the chair in front of the desk and opened up her laptop, turning it on. It took a few seconds, but the computer soon booted up.

Charlie wasted no time in opening the internet browser; she had to check up on her gardening blog. She wasn't the most internet-savvy girl, but she was still good enough to post several extensive online tutorials for people to follow. And it had been successful; Charlie had nearly two million subscribers to her blog, which had in turn partly secured her place at Sun's Joy. However, as these thoughts rushed through Charlie's head, she looked at the screen to see something: there was no internet signal.

A cold chill of anxiety ran through Charlie. The internet was like a lifeline for her; her world revolved around it. And to not have it was to cut Charlie off from everything she was comfortable with. She hit the refresh button, hoping to get somewhere, but the page continued to display an error message. But as this showed, Charlie noticed a pop-up on her menu bar: it was alerting her to how she was not connected to a network. Perhaps that was it: all Charlie would have to do would be to connect to the academy's Wi-Fi and her problems would be solved. She clicked on the button, and was directed to a list of available networks. Currently, there was only one, with the cryptic name of 'MONOKUMA_NET01'. It had to be the academy's network, though, despite the odd name. Charlie clicked on it, but another message came up: it was password protected.

Charlie let out a sigh, and sunk her head into her arms. This was just perfect; she was without the internet. She closed the laptop, since there was no reason to keep it open. Perhaps she could find someone and ask them to help her with setting up the network, but that was assuming that there were people other than the students on campus, which didn't seem to be the case.

However, before Charlie could worry about the issue any further, the sound of someone knocking on her door caught her attention. A rush of anxiety washed over her as the knocking continued. Part of her willed for whoever was on the other side of the door to just go away and leave her alone, but another part of Charlie recognised that this was a prime opportunity to try and make some friends. They wouldn't know about her anxieties. She could start over. She could leave her timid life behind. This was the decision that Charlie made as she walked across her room to the door, opening it.

“Hi!” Charlie looked to see two people standing in front of the door. The first was a stocky girl with frizzy brown hair that fell to her shoulders. A light pink baseball cap rested on her head, and she wore a white tank top, a pair of jeans, and boots.

“Hello,” Charlie said. “Who are you?” Inwardly she wanted to curl up for such an awful first impression, but she still stood tall.

“I'm Nina,” the girl responded. “ETL Video Game Designer.” She smiled widely at Charlie. “And may I ask the same question?”

“Okay,” Charlie said. “I'm Charlie, and I'm the ETL Gardener.” Nina immediately took Charlie's hand, shaking it.

“Nice to meet you, Charlie!” Nina said. “I'm just sort of making the rounds through the dorm rooms to meet my fellow ETLs.”

“That's a great idea,” Charlie said.

“Glad you think so,” Nina said with a smile. “You see, you're actually the first person I've spoken to since coming up with this plan, so your approval means the world to me!”

“And who's that with you?” Charlie asked. She pointed to the other figure.

“Oh, I'm Joel,” he said. “ETL Lifeguard, at your service.” Joel was a tall boy with sandy hair. He had alert brown eyes, and wore a grey tank top underneath an unbuttoned sky blue shirt, a pair of board shorts, and flip-flops. He extended his hand. Charlie took it, shaking it gently. His grip was firm, she noted.

“A pleasure to meet the both of you,” she said.

“Same,” Joel replied.

“Joel here's a pretty cool guy,” Nina said. “I'm sure you remember that freak whirlpool off the west coast a few months back?”

“Oh yea,” Charlie said. “That was all over the news, wasn't it?”

“Well,” Nina said. “Out of the eighty survivors, Joel saved seventy five of them.”

Charlie's eyes widened. “Really?”

“Come on, Nina,” Joel said. “It's no big deal.”

“He's a little too modest for his own good,” Nina said. She laughed at her own statement.

“Really, Nina's just dragging me along for her tour of the campus,” Joel explained. “I heard there was a pool, and just want to find it really.”

“I imagine that the pool here will be excellent,” Nina said. “I mean, the IT room? To die for!”

“So it has the right stuff for your work?” Joel said.

“Yep,” Nina replied. “Every program I need is there.”

“Program?” Charlie asked.

“Oh yeah!” Nina said. “I never did explain why I earned my ETL title!”

“She's responsible for creating a whole plethora of video games,” Joel said. “Her current fame comes from the reality simulation game Carefree Starlight.”

“What's that?” Charlie asked.

“Let me explain!” Nina stated proudly. “Carefree Starlight is a game in which you create your own character and explore the world around you. And depending on the choices you make and the people you talk to, the game can go in hundreds of different directions, from romance to sci-fi!”

“Wow,” Charlie said. “That sounds amazing.”

“In fact,” Nina said. She reached into her pocket, pulling out what appeared to be a Nintendo 3DS. “I have the 3DS version with me her!” Nina handed Charlie the console. “Have it!”

“Really?” Charlie said. “I mean, these things are awfully expensive...”

“Consider it a friendship token,” Nina said with a smile.

“Well, thank you,” Charlie said. She placed the console in her cardigan pocket.

“Anyway, enough of that,” Nina said. “Let's get exploring the campus!”

Charlie followed Nina and Joel as they walked down the dorm hallway. At the end of the hall was an elevator, which Charlie had used to get up to this floor in the first place. Nina pressed the button on the wall, and the silver door slid open, allowing for the trio to step inside. Once they were all in, Nina selected the button that said 'GROUND FLOOR'.

The elevator began to smoothly descend, a soft hum sounding from somewhere. Charlie looked up at the roof of the small space, and saw a security camera. It made sense, considering that this was such an esteemed academy, but the thought of potentially being watched made Charlie uncomfortable. She looked away, and to the elevator door. As it opened, Charlie saw someone standing on the other side, appearing to be waiting patiently for the elevator.

“Oh, hello,” Charlie said as the three of them stepped out.

“Hi,” the other person said. “Who are you three?”

“I'm Charlie: ETL Gardener,” she said.

“I'm Nina: ETL Video Game Designer,” Nina added. She motioned to Joel. “He's Joel: the ETL Lifeguard.”

“I'm Ella,” she said. “ETL Sound Engineer.” Ella was a petite girl with tanned skin. She had black hair done in a pixie cut, and wore a mocha t-shirt with the words _Turn the Music Up, Tune the World Out_ written on it in a striking black font. The rest of her outfit consisted of a pair of knee-length beige shorts, and a pair of high black boots. “And if you don't mind me asking, does this elevator go up to the dorm rooms?”

“Yes,” Nina said.

“Oh, good,” Ella said. “My ElectroID says it does, but I was just double checking.”

“Hey, wait a sec,” Joel said. “Haven't I seen you somewhere?”

“What do you mean?” Ella asked.

“I swear you were in some Hollywood interview a while back,” Joel said.

“Oh yeah,” Ella said. “I'm the leading composer for the blockbuster success Poisoned Rainbow. Did the interview talk about releasing the tracks on iTunes before the movie actually came out?”

“Sounds about right,” Joel said.

“It should do,” Ella replied. She smiled knowingly. “Literally five minutes after that interview I received my acceptance letter for Sun's Joy. I remember that day in great detail.”

“That's awesome!” Nina said. “In fact, I think I know what we should watch if we were to ever do an ETL Movie Night.”

Ella couldn't help but smile. “Of course, I'd advise watching it for more than just the soundtrack. The story's unlike anything I've seen before, and I have to tip my hat to the main actor for his stunning performance. To be honest I'm incredibly surprised that he didn't make it here as the ETL Actor.”

“Is he our age?” Charlie asked.

“Yes,” Ella said. “His birthday is precisely a month before mine, actually.”

“When's that?” Nina asked.

“June fifth,” Ella replied. “Why?”

“Just curious,” Nina said with a shrug. “And also I now know when to begin preparing for a surprise birthday party for you.” She laughed loudly.

“I'm not really the party type,” Ella said.

“Me neither,” Nina replied. “I'm actually more inclined to become so engrossed in working on a game that I can end up forgetting everything. I even ended up missing my fifteenth birthday because I was too busy working on a Pokémon fan-game.”

“Wow,” Ella said. “I've never done something like that.”

“I guess I just get too passionate about what I do,” Nina said. “Not that it's a bad thing.”

“Yeah,” Ella said. She looked down at her wristwatch. “Anyway, I don't want to sound rude, but it's already past noon and I still haven't checked out my room.” She smiled bashfully. “Mostly I just want to make sure all my stuff has been sent over okay.”

“All right then,” Nina said. She smiled as Ella walked into the elevator. “See you around!”

“You too,” Ella said. And then the elevator shut and she was gone.

“She seemed nice,” Nina said to Joel and Charlie.

“Yeah,” Joel said. “I still can't believe we're surrounded by such talented people.”

“Uh, Joel,” Nina said. She nudged his shoulder. “You're an ETL as well.”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “But these people are like celebrities.”

“It gets better, you know,” Nina said. “According to the forums, we have people like best-selling authors, artists, and even fashion designers attending. Prepare to be starstruck.”

Joel laughed. “Sorry. Before now I came from a small coastal town. I'm not used to this sort of lifestyle.”

“Get used to it quickly,” Nina said. “You're part of it.”

“Um, guys,” Charlie said. “Where are we heading first?”

“Oh yeah!” Nina said. “Well, I came in from the southern entrance, so you want to explore the northern side of the campus?”

“Okay then,” Charlie said. “I think the exit's at the end of this hallway.”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “I remember since I came in from that way. I didn't really check anything out though.”

“All right then,” Nina said. “Let's go see what's in store!”

As Nina led the way, Charlie pulled out her ElectroID. She opened up the menu, and selected the option titled 'Available Facilities'. She began to read through them as they walked through the large double doors that led to the northern section of the campus.

**Sun's Joy Academy – Facilities.**

**At Sun's Joy we pride ourselves in providing facilities to accommodate students of every Enhanced Talent Level. The campus will always be expanding every year to provide even more for the next class of Enhanced Talent Levels.**

**For the first year, these are the current available facilities.**

**NORTHERN HALF:**

  1. **Skate Park**

  2. **Film Studio**

  3. **Race Track**

  4. **Dance Hall**




**CENTRAL BUILDING:**

  1. **Wood Workshop**

  2. **IT Room**

  3. **Courtroom**

  4. **Art Studio**




**SOUTHERN HALF:**

  1. **Swimming Pool**

  2. **Library**

  3. **Garden**

  4. **Textile Building**




**In addition to this, there are several smaller study buildings for students to utilise as quiet areas of private study, or to host extracurricular activities.**

Charlie looked through all of this with a sense of awe. This place sure had been ready for their arrival. She looked ahead to Nina and Joel who were walking down the path. There was a large fountain in the middle of the path, shining in the afternoon sunlight. The two had stopped in front of the fountain, admiring.

“Hey, guys,” Charlie said, running up to them.

“Yeah?” Nina said. She and Joel were sat on the edge of the fountain.

“I checked the ElectroID,” Charlie said. “According to this, there's a skate park, race track, dance hall, and film studio on the northern side of the campus.”

“Really?” Nina said. Her eyes lit up. “That's awesome!”

“This place really caters to us, huh?” Joel said. He trailed a hand in the water of the fountain, getting his shirtsleeve wet in the process. He soon took his hand out, and rolled the sleeves up.

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I can't wait to see the garden on the southern side myself.”

“So where to first?” Joel asked Nina, who seemed to be acting as the leader for the group.

“Hmm...” Nina said. “How about the dance hall?”  
“Fine by me,” Joel said. “You okay with this Charlie?”

“Yes, I'm okay with it,” Charlie replied.

“That's great!” Nina said. She hopped off the fountain, and began to walk along the path. “Let's go!”

The three of them continued to walk down the path, heading away from the main building. A light summer breeze blew in the air, carrying the scent of the ocean with it. At times it felt more like a vacation resort than a school. But, Charlie supposed, that was part of the charm.

They soon found the dance hall in the north-west edge of the campus. It was a large building made up of classical brickwork. Several windows reflected the sunlight, and a large pair of double doors made up the entrance. As they drew closer, the sound of pounding pop music reached their ears. Charlie idly noted that it was the current chart-topper.

“I love this song!” Nina said. “Fun fact by the way: the boss battle theme in this RPG I'm working on is actually based on this!”

“You create the soundtracks as well?” Joel asked, astounded.

“Well, yeah,” Nina scoffed. “I'm a one-woman video game team. The best in the world.”

“You certainly are,” Charlie said.

“But enough about me,” Nina said. She pushed open the double doors. “Let's go find the source of this music!”

The doors led to a small hallway lined with lockers and benches. All of the lockers were open, except for one, and a backpack was laying on the ground in front of it. Charlie noticed that there was a Hello Kitty print on it. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door.

“Whoever owns that bag's probably in there,” Joel said.

“Should we go in?” Charlie asked.

“Sure,” Nina said. “I guess if we're interrupting then we'll just leave and head back some other time.”

“Yeah,” Joel said as Nina walked past him. She pushed open the door, and she stepped through. Joel followed suit, and Charlie made up the rear end. Once she was inside, Charlie's jaw dropped in awe. The dance hall itself was larger than the gym in the main building, with a large stage at the far side. There was an open wooden floor, and the walls were lined with bars and mirrors. But none of this was what she was noticing: Charlie was transfixed by the figure on the stage.

All three of them watched in awe as the figure performed perfect ballet moves to the pounding. The contrast was striking and captivating at the same time. The music began to fade out towards the end, and the dancer suddenly performed a perfect pirouette off of the stage, landing gracefully on the ground. The music cut out. Nina began to clap.

“Whoo!” she said. “That was amazing!”

“Oh,” the dancer said. “I didn't know I had attracted an audience.”

“You deserve one,” Joel said. “Those moves were sublime.”

“You really think so?” the dancer replied. “It was just an improv routine.”

“Wow,” Charlie said. “You wouldn't think that from watching you.”

“Thanks guys,” the dancer said. “You're too kind. And may I ask as to the identities of my loving audience?”

“Sure,” Nina said. “I'm Nina: ETL Video Game Designer. He's Joel: ETL Lifeguard, and she's Charlie: ETL Gardener.”

“Nice to meet you all,” the dancer said. “I'm Chelsea: ETL Ballerina.” Chelsea was a large girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was currently wearing a red tank-top with a white skirt along with a pair of pumps. Clearly this was her dance outfit.

“I guessed so,” Nina said. “I don't think anyone else can come close to your abilities.”

Chelsea blushed. “You all are too kind,” she said. “I'm not that good, you know? Having all this extra weight doesn't help either.”

“What are you talking about?” Nina said. “You're gorgeous, Chelsea, and before you let any negativity seep in, know this: you are an ETL. You are one of only sixteen people in the world with that title. You should be proud of yourself for this achievement.”

“Well, thanks,” Chelsea said. “But I'm not too bothered about this: I mean, I've worked my routines all around it.” She suddenly walked past them. “I'll be with you guys in one second: I'm just going to change out of this outfit.”

“Okay then,” Nina said. She then turned to Joel and Charlie. “Oh, wow. She dances like no other!”

“Someone's a little starstruck,” Joel teased.

“Oh shut up,” Nina said. “I just really like her dancing, okay?”

“I know,” Charlie said. “I remember seeing her in the international championships last year with that solo rendition of Swan Lake: I didn't know it was possible, but she pulled it off brilliantly.”

“That's an ETL for you,” Nina said.

The conversation died down naturally for a few moments before Chelsea returned to the dance hall wearing her regular outfit, which consisted of a white shirt under a black hoodie, a pair of black sweatpants, a pair of blue running shoes, and her backpack. She had also put a pale pink headband in as well, and two large golden hoop earrings adorned her ears.

“I'm ready,” she said.

“You're going to join us?” Nina asked. “That's great!”

“So how much of the campus have you explored so far?” Chelsea asked.

“We decided on doing a tour of the northern section,” Nina said. “This is our first stop.”

“I've seen a little of the southern section,” Chelsea said. “But I had to leave before the ETL Reporter roped me into a follow-up interview.”

“What?” Charlie asked.

“You haven't seen him yet?” Chelsea said. “He's trying to make some kind of documentary of our time here, which consists of interviewing every last ETL. His goal is to interview us all at least once before the introductory period is over.”

“He sure sounds devoted,” Nina said. “And that sounds pretty interesting as well; I'll be sure to get interviewed when I see him.”

“I've already given mine,” Joel said. “He's pretty upbeat and an all-around likeable guy. He's really passionate about this project of his.”

“I don't know if I want to be on camera...” Charlie said.

“It's not that bad,” Nina said. “You get used to it after a while; I know since there are so many interviews required when you're the leading game designer.”

“My shows are also filmed on live television,” Chelsea said. “I've been surrounded by cameras for as long as I can remember.”

“I knew you were all practically celebrities,” Joel said, laughing.

“And what of it?” Chelsea said. “We're all in this academy together, after all. We should ignore all that celebrity stuff and just see each other as fellow students.”

“Yeah,” Joel said.

“Anyway,” Nina said. “This has been nice, but we still have our campus tour to do. Where to next?”

“Since we're on the northern section,” Chelsea said. “I wouldn't mind seeing the race track.”

“Why?” Charlie asked.

“One of my hobbies happens to be watching that kind of stuff in my spare time,” Chelsea explained. “I'm actually working on a dance routine that explores the whole concept.”

“Really?” Charlie said. “That's amazing.”

“And you are the only person that managed to completely cultivate a two-square mile flower garden with no help what-so-ever,” Chelsea countered. “Don't sell yourself short.”

Charlie smiled. “I just don't see myself as that good, really,” she explained. “I mean, all of you have done things like becoming celebrities or life-savers, and all I can do is make plants grow.”

“A green thumb is nothing to be sniffed at,” Chelsea said. “Heaven knows I don't even have the patience to grow roses in my own living room!”

“Oh,” Charlie said. “That's because you're cutting the plant off from a sufficient air supply, not to mention that if the temperatures of an average house are unregulated, it can be detrimental to the plant's hydration by cutting it off from the natural water vapours, and that if the plant is not close to a windowsill, then it will have to rely on a light bulb, which does not contain enough nutrients to allow it to healthily photosynthesise. The best thing is to either keep the plant on the windowsill outside of the window, or to keep the house well-ventilated with plenty of sunlight.”

“Whoa,” Nina said. “Charlie, you really are like a plant genius!”

“Yeah,” Chelsea added. “If that isn't ETL material then I don't know what is.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said. “But really, that's just basic textbook botanical knowledge. Any old person could learn that.”

“But any old person couldn't recite it like their favourite song,” Joel said.

“I know,” Charlie said. “I guess maybe I'm not that useless.”

“That's the truth right there,” Nina said. “Now, onward to the race track!”

Nina led the way once again as they left the dance hall, returning outside. They walked along the path, heading east towards where the racetrack was. They could see it even from just outside of the dance hall: it was a large, dome-like building with a checked flag flying high in the sky in front of it. In fact, Charlie thought that they looked more like Olympic venues than school facilities. Chelsea was staring in awe at the building as well, so absorbed that she didn't notice the person she just walked into.

“Hey!” the person said. “You know, you could watch where you're going.”

“Oh, sorry!” Chelsea said. “It was an accident!”

“It's fine,” the person replied. “Just pay more attention to your surroundings next time, would you?”

“Okay then,” Chelsea said. “By the way, since everyone seems to be doing introductions, I suppose we should do it as well. I'm Chelsea: ETL Ballerina.”

“All right then,” the person said. “I'm Wyatt: ETL Fashion Designer.” Wyatt was rather thin, and had bleach-blonde hair styled up with gel. He had glasses that could only be described as part of the hipster fashion, and wore a long sleeved pink shirt with white sleeves, a pair of skinny jeans, and a pair of high-top shoes with some elegant pattern etched onto them.

“That's cool!” Nina said. “I'm Nina: ETL Video Game Designer.”

“I'm Joel,” Joel said. “ETL Lifeguard.”

“Charlie,” Charlie said. “ETL Gardener.”

“Well, isn't this an interesting menagerie of students?” Wyatt said. “You four don't seem to have anything in common regarding your talents.”

“That may be,” Nina said. “But really, friendship is about more than just talents.”

“I have to agree with Nina there,” Chelsea said. “We shouldn't let our skills define us.”

“That's an interesting way to put it,” Wyatt said. “But anyway, why are you four going around together?”

“Exploration,” Nina said. “We were just on our way to the race track.”

“Hm,” Wyatt said. “You know, I saw a couple more students also heading over there a little while ago. If you were looking for more people to meet, then they still might be there.”

“Really?” Nina said. “That's good to know. And where are you going?”

“Me?” Wyatt said. “I'm off to the textile building; I must confess I'm interested in which fabrics they have available.”

“Well,” Chelsea said. “If it's anything like the dance hall, you won't be disappointed.”

“Really now?” Wyatt said. A faint smile crossed his lips. “I hope you're not wrong there.”

“I don't see why they'd give preference to one student over another,” Nina said. “I mean, this place only has sixteen students here at any given time. It can't be that hard to provide equal advantages for everyone, can it?”

“You're right,” Wyatt said. “Anyway, I'm off now. I guess I'll see you this evening at dinner?”

“Oh yeah!” Nina said. “I forgot about that! But yeah, see you then.” Wyatt gave them all one more smile, before walking past them, heading back towards the main building.

Chelsea turned to the others as they also began to walk towards the race track.

“It's kind of funny, you know?” she said. “Even though there are only sixteen of us here, it feels like a lot more.”

“Tell me about it,” Nina said. “Everyone here's bursting with character. My head's spinning just trying to remember everyone's names!”

Charlie laughed. “I wouldn't worry about that,” she said. “The ElectroIDs have the student roster loaded on them.”

“Really?!” Nina said enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “It contains detailed profiles about everyone here.”

“Let's see then!” Nina exclaimed.

“Okay,” Charlie said. “I'll load mine to show you.” Everyone crowded around Charlie as she switched on her ElectroID, displaying her profile.

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Charlotte Grath**

**Height: 5ft5**

**Weight: 124lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: August 30**

**Likes: Summer Breezes**

**Dislikes: Crowds**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Gardener**

“Whoa,” Nina said. “That's extremely thorough!”

“It is,” Charlie said. “I honestly didn't expect them to have researched me this well.”

“Whilst we're at it,” Joel said. “Why not look through the profiles of everyone else we've met today?”

“Are you sure?” Charlie said. “Surely it would be better to get to know them than to just look them up on some PDA.”

“Well,” Nina said. “It's not like yours gave us your life story, so it'll be fine. Not to mention it's pretty cool that we get to find out neat pieces of information like this.”

“It kind of feels like we're looking them up as if they're video game characters though...” Charlie said. “But I suppose it won't hurt to satisfy a mild sense of curiosity.” She returned to her ElectroID and booted up the profiles of the other students they had met throughout the day so far.

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Nina Harrison**

**Height: 5ft10**

**Weight: 135lbs**

**Blood Type: O**

**Birthday: May 26**

**Likes: Salsa Dip**

**Dislikes: Slow Internet**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Joel Miller**

**Height: 6ft1**

**Weight: 149lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: April 29**

**Likes: Family**

**Dislikes: Enclosed Spaces**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Lifeguard**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Ella Walker**

**Height: 5ft3**

**Weight: 121lbs**

**Blood Type: A**

**Birthday: June 5**

**Likes: Cityscapes**

**Dislikes: Betrayal**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Sound Engineer**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Chelsea Dennis**

**Height: 5ft6**

**Weight: 180lbs**

**Blood Type: O**

**Birthday: December 9**

**Likes: Bubblegum**

**Dislikes: Horror Movies**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Ballerina**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Wyatt Temple**

**Height: 5ft8**

**Weight: 150lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: March 11**

**Likes: Magazines**

**Dislikes: Overused Internet Memes**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Fashion Designer**

“Satisfied now?” Charlie asked as she switched off her ElectroID.

“Yeah,” Nina said. “But whoa: this is actually kind of neat!”

“Let's not bring any of this up to anyone out of the blue though,” Chelsea said. “It kind of feels like we're invading their privacy somewhat.”

“I guess,” Nina said. “But at least we now have interesting conversation topics for people.”

“It'll probably help break the ice,” Joel said. “I guess not everyone's that good at starting conversations.”

“I suppose,” Charlie said. “Still, knowing people can see this about me is unnerving.”

“Get used to it,” Nina said. “By next summer, I know we'll all be best friends with one another.”

“A little optimistic, don't you think?” Chelsea said. “I'm pretty sure that there will be at least one conflict of personality somewhere down the line.”

“I know,” Nina said. “But one must hope, after all.”

They then began walking again, not really talking to one another until they reached the outside of the race track. Charlie was in awe at the size of it.

“Wow,” she said. “It's huge.”

“I know,” Joel said. “And judging from what we've seen so far, I can't wait to see the pool.”

“It's the garden I'm really looking forward to,” Charlie said.

“We'll see that in due time,” Nina said. “But first, let's take a look at the race track!” She delivered a smile to the group, and walked up to the main entrance to the building. But as she did, the door swung open, slamming her in the face. Nina reeled back as two people stepped through the door, their faces plastered with worry as they saw her.

“Oh goodness!” one said. “I'm so sorry!”

“Are you all right?” the other said.

“Fine,” Nina replied. “Nothing to worry about.” She took a deep breath, and smiled warmly. “See?”

“That's good to know,” the first one said. “I'm Ben, by the way. I'm the ETL Abstract Artist.” Ben was of average build, and had dark brown skin with short black hair, appearing to be of Indian descent. He had wide eyes that almost seemed golden, and wore a plaid shirt and white pants with brown loafers.

“And I'm Carlos,” the second one said. “ETL Blogger.” Carlos was shorter than Ben, and had slightly scruffy ginger hair and blue eyes. He wore a simple dark blue t-shirt with a Pikachu print on it that seemed somewhat faded, a pair of jeans, and some black and white converse shoes.

“Nice to meet you both!” Nina said. “I'm Nina: ETL Video Game Designer.”

“Joel,” Joel said. “ETL Lifeguard.”

“I'm Chelsea,” Chelsea said, smiling. “ETL Ballerina.”

“And I'm Charlie,” Charlie said. “ETL Gardener.”

“Wait a sec,” Carlos said. He walked up to Charlie. “Do you happen to be Charlotte Grath?”

“Um, yes,” Charlie said. “Why?”

“I just love your blog!” he exclaimed. “You know, I have an eye for that kind of stuff, and let me tell you, besides me, I've never seen such an impressive blog!”

“Uh, thanks?” Charlie said. But Carlos didn't notice, and continued gushing.

“And the image arrangement,” he said. “Combined with the subtlety of the font, it makes for every blogger's dream!”

“Wow,” Chelsea said wryly. “Someone sure seems passionate. And if I may ask, what is it you blog about?”

“Depends on which blog you mean,” Carlos said. “I run over two hundred blogs, all of which have at least three million subscribers!”

“Oh goodness,” Chelsea replied. “That's a lot. How do you have the time to update them all regularly?”

“That's the beauty of it,” Carlos said. “I've actually scheduled the next eighty weekly posts for each blog well in advance! I'm currently writing the next batch right now.”

“Have fun scheduling it,” Nina said. “Internet's bust.”

“I know,” Carlos said. He sighed. “It fills me with the deepest of despairs.”

“Whoa now,” Joel said. “Isn't that word kind of a sensitive topic after what happened in Japan?”

“Maybe,” Carlos said. “But we shouldn't attach a stigma to the word. It's hardly the word's fault it was used in such an awful context, is it?”

“You have a point,” Joel said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “I guess I do.”

“And, Carlos,” Chelsea said. “May I ask as to what landed you here?”

“Oh yeah!” Carlos said. “It was actually my blog covering the happenings of the Despair Event, oddly enough.”

“I guess it could have been worse,” Nina said. “And what about you, Ben?”

“Me?” Ben said. “It was an art show of mine featured in one of the national galleries. My letter was delivered by hand soon after, and I've been preparing for here ever since.”

“That's cool,” Nina said. “And what do you do, art-wise?”

“Oh, everything,” Ben said. “Sculpting, painting, pixel art... you name it, I've probably done it in an abstract medium.”

“Pixel art?” Nina said, her eyes lighting up. “Do tell me!”

“It was just a political piece,” Ben said with a shrug. “I made the government into character sprites. That's all. Nothing to get excited about. It was actually quite a flop as well.”

“You know, I'm not half bad at pixel art,” Nina said. “I could give you some pointers if you'd like.”

“That would be great!” Ben said, smiling. “Once the semester begins, I'll definitely talk to you about it.”

“Awesome,” Nina said.

“Um,” Charlie said. “I don't mean to derail the conversation, but what's the race track like?”

“Pretty empty,” Ben said with a shrug. “We were hoping to see the racer, but I guess it's a little too early for that kind of stuff.”

“I guess,” Charlie said. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Let me check,” Ben said. He looked down at his watch. “Whoa. Five already? It feels like just two minutes ago we arrived here.”

“I know,” Nina said. “And since the race track's disappointingly empty, how about we head to the main building's cafeteria for some dinner?”

“Fine by me,” Ben said. “Let's go then.”

The group of six walked along the path back to the main building. The late afternoon sun shone brightly on the campus as all the ETLs gradually made their way to the cafeteria, growing hungry after a day of exploration. It was around six thirty by the time everyone arrived.

The cafeteria was a large room filled with tables that were piled high with food. Charlie sat at one of these tables, eating from a plate of salad. Nina sat next to her, eating tortillas. The others had dispersed across the cafeteria, talking to one another.

“So,” Nina said to Charlie, taking a bite of her tortilla. “How's this place looking?”

“Like something from my dreams,” Charlie said.

“I know,” Nina said. She looked across the room. “Hey, do you mind if we check out the other profiles? I really want to talk to everyone I didn't manage to see tomorrow, and knowing some stuff to talk about would be great.”

“Okay then,” Charlie said. She turned on her ElectroID, and displayed the other profiles.

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Carlos Woods**

**Height: 5ft7**

**Weight: 140lbs**

**Blood Type: O**

**Birthday: July 3**

**Likes: The News**

**Dislikes: Hypocrites**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Blogger**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Ben Raiser**

**Height: 5ft7**

**Weight: 138lbs**

**Blood Type: A**

**Birthday: September 25**

**Likes: Plane Trips**

**Dislikes: Spicy Food**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Abstract Artist**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Melissa Arthurs**

**Height: 5ft6**

**Weight: 143lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: August 4**

**Likes: Quiet Evenings**

**Dislikes: Failure**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Novelist**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Shauna Kerzenna**

**Height: 5ft2**

**Weight: 120lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: October 29**

**Likes: Pop Music**

**Dislikes: Isolation**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Toy Maker**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Mark Sanders**

**Height: 5ft9**

**Weight: 145bs**

**Blood Type: A**

**Birthday: April 17**

**Likes: The Ocean**

**Dislikes: Violence**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Reporter**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Marian Tanner**

**Height: 5ft10**

**Weight: 152lbs**

**Blood Type: B**

**Birthday: September 30**

**Likes: The Smell of Books**

**Dislikes: Spiders**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Lawyer**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Naomi Fenne**

**Height: 5ft8**

**Weight: 136lbs**

**Blood Type: O**

**Birthday: February 10**

**Likes: Cute Boys**

**Dislikes: Repetition**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Skater**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: Andrew Cyrus**

**Height: 5ft8**

**Weight: 147lbs**

**Blood Type: A**

**Birthday: January 4**

**Likes: Iced Tea**

**Dislikes: Bears**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Racer**

**STUDENT PROFILE**

**Name: John Smith**

**Height: 5ft9**

**Weight: 150lbs**

**Blood Type: AB**

**Birthday: November 28**

**Likes: Fresh Bedsheets**

**Dislikes: Public Transport**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Empath**

**STUDENT PROFILE (lmao what a dumb title)**

**Name: His Royal Highness Dirk Parker**

**Height: Taller than u peasants**

**Weight: hella B)**

**Blood Type: XXX ultra rare**

**Birthday: March 31 (or is it? nobody knows :o 2spooky)**

**Likes: Honest to God**

**Dislikes: Just ask me in person if you're that curious but I'm really kinda boring**

**Title: Enhanced Talent Level Messiah (No joke 100% serious biznizzle here) (Is actually dope as hell Hacker represent)**

“What the hell is that last one?!” Nina exclaimed.

“I think it's a poorly executed joke,” Charlie said. “If it's any indication I think it's because he's the ETL hacker, if this is to be trusted.”

“I hate wise guys like that,” Nina said. She rolled her eyes.

“At least it reveals something about his personality,” Charlie offered. “Just be careful to not actually punch him in the face when you meet him.”  
“I won't,” Nina said. “Don't worry.” She then began to smirk. “It is actually kind of funny, you know?”

Charlie smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

Before either girl could speak any further, however, someone stood onto their table. Charlie recognised her from the ElectroID as Shauna, the ETL Toy Maker.

“Could I please have everyone's attention?” Shauna said. The cafeteria soon turned quiet. “Thank you. Anyway, my name's Shauna, and it's great to meet you all here at Sun's Joy!”

“Don't waste time,” the girl next to Shauna, Melissa, said.

“Whoops!” Shauna said. “Back to the main point: as a way to hope for a great year with you guys, I've decided to plan a beach party for us all!”

“That's a great idea!” Nina spoke up.

“Thanks,” Shauna said, smiling. “So the plan for tomorrow is to wake first thing, and head down to the east beach for a day of sun, sand, and friendship! After all, what better way is there to get to know your fellow ETLs?” Several people then began to speak up, saying things such as “I'm in”, and “Why not?”

“I don't know,” Charlie said quietly to Nina. “I don't do big social events.”

“Come on,” Nina said. “It's not like you've got anything better to do.” Charlie hesitated. Nina was right. And besides, this was the best opportunity she had to introduce herself to some other people.

“All right then,” Charlie said. “I'll try.”

“That's the spirit,” Nina said.

“Okay everyone,” Shauna said. “We'll all meet here at seven AM, and be down at the beach by nine. Sound good?” Several people voiced their approval. “Okay then! It's pretty late now, so I guess we should maybe head off to bed so that none of us are tired for tomorrow!”

“I like her,” Nina said to Charlie. “She's definitely the type of person I'd love to have as a friend.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I'm actually a little excited for this party myself now that I think about it.”

“I think we all are, actually,” Nina said. “Hopefully this will allow for even the most reclusive to come out of their shells.”

“I hope so,” Charlie said. “But promise me you won't leave me alone; I don't think I'm ready to make that step just yet.”

“All right then,” Nina said with a smile. “I promise.” She then looked around, and saw the others filing out of the cafeteria in groups of two or three. “We should probably get going as well. Shauna said it best: we don't want to be tired for tomorrow.”

“Okay then,” Charlie said. She placed her ElectroID in her pocket. “Let's go.”

The two of them stood up, and left their seats, walking through the cafeteria to the hallway outside. The sun had set now, and the lights above them illuminated the hallways perfectly. Charlie smiled to herself. She had started today adamant that she was going to avoid talking to everyone for the entire year, but now she was preparing to go to a beach party of all things. She wished the internet was working; her parents would be enthralled to know that their daughter was developing a social life. _Once everything's up and running,_ she told herself. _After the welcoming ceremony._

Charlie wasn't aware of it, but none of this would come to pass. By the time that the welcoming ceremony was scheduled to happen, she would be experiencing complete and utter despair along with the other ETLs. None of them had any idea of how grave the situation was to become. And if they did, none of them would have boarded the helicopters to take them to Sun's Joy Academy.


	4. The New Reality

The next morning, Dirk woke early. His first action was to open up his computer, and check the internet.

“Still dead,” he said to himself. No, not dead, he corrected; there was a network available, just that it was encrypted with some password he couldn't find out. The network name MONOKUMA_NET01 stared Dirk in the face, mocking him. It was the only thing he couldn't hack: he had even managed to hack into the simple wireless network that surrounded the ElectroIDs, and had screwed around with his profile for giggles. That he could do. But get beyond a simple password? It seemed impossible.

Still, Dirk realised that there was no point in moping around all day. Shauna had decided on some kind of beach party today and he couldn't exactly not turn up. Besides, the fresh air might do him some good: walking was actually something Dirk liked to do to clear his head when faced with decoding something particularly hard.

So with this decided, Dirk showered and dressed for the day, before making his way down to the cafeteria. It was still fairly early, so there were maybe two or three other people in there besides himself. He sat in the corner of the room, eating from a plate of waffles as he opened up his PDA. He could still access the ElectroID network. That was still the extent of his hacking abilities. He sighed, and turned off his PDA. He'd look into it later today, after the whole beach party thing.

The calm silence that filled the cafeteria was soon broken as two figures walked into the room; Dirk recognised them as Marian and Andrew, the Lawyer and the Racer, respectively. They quickly grabbed what they wanted from the breakfast bar, and made their way over to Dirk's table.

“Good morning Your Highness,” Marian said wryly as she sipped from her coffee.

“You saw that then,” Dirk said coolly.

“So did I,” Andrew added, grinning as he ate a banana. “Triple X blood type? I thought my grandmother was the only one in the world with that!”

“Well you're wrong,” Dirk said. “And anyway, what's up with displaying our blood type like that?”

“I think I know the answer,” Marian said. As she said this, the morning sunlight shone through the windows, brightening the cafeteria. “In certain cultures, people believe that blood types determine your personality.”

“Like how some people believe in star signs?” Andrew asked.

“Exactly like that,” Marian said. “Although, it's more of an eastern thing. Really, it would have made sense to put our star signs on if that's what they were aiming for.”

“Well, we can just ask them tomorrow,” Dirk said.

“You're right,” Marian said. “I guess for today we just enjoy ourselves before the semester begins.”

“Yeah,” Dirk said.

“So, are you guys looking forward to it?” Andrew said.

“Kind of,” Marian said. “Although beaches aren't really my thing. I'm more of an indoors kind of girl.”

“Same,” Dirk said. “But it should allow us to all socialise or whatever.”

“I know,” Marian said. “I'm still conflicted though. I really just want to go see the courtroom again.”

“Courtroom?” Dirk said.

“Yeah,” Marian replied, smiling. “How can you entertain an ETL Lawyer without a courtroom to hold practice trials in?”

“Makes sense,” Dirk said. “So what are we gonna do? Hold a pretend trial for the murder of Andrew or something?”

“Maybe,” Marian said. “That'd be cool, though: staging crimes for us to solve would be a great way to grow closer.”

“A little unorthodox, I'll give you that,” Dirk said. “But I'd take part in that if you were to ever arrange it.”

“Maybe during the weekend I'll ask to use the courtroom,” Marian said. “It could be like those clubs people held in high school.”

“Man, that seems a million miles away,” Dirk said.

“Tell me about it,” Andrew said. “I can hardly remember anything from there anyway; pretty sure I spent the final few months taking part in racing tournaments.” He laughed. “I think I actually missed the graduation ceremony.”

“I didn't attend,” Dirk said. “It was a waste of time, and quite frankly embarrassing.” It was his turn to chuckle.

“What did you do?” Marian said accusingly.

“You got me,” Dirk said. “All right then: I replaced the Powerpoint with a slide show of the teachers' summer break night on the town; their fault for keeping them on private Facebook feeds they assume the students can't access.”

“How bad was it?” Andrew asked, grinning.

“Just things like the vice principal passed out on the floor of a strip club,” Dirk said.

“Oh my god,” Marian said. She covered her mouth with her hand in a weak attempt to conceal her laughter. “Seriously?”

“Then I shouldn't mention the French teachers doing the macarena,” Dirk said.

“Man,” Andrew said. “Are you for real?”

“You can sort of tell I got bored in my final few months of high school,” Dirk said.

“At least you had fun,” Marian said. “My entire final year was spent solving petty crimes that took place within the school. Like I'm some kind of teenage Phoenix Wright or whatever.”

“Sounds fun,” Andrew said dryly.

“Trust me,” Marian said. “It wasn't.”

-

Across from Dirk's group, Naomi sat with Ella and Chelsea. Naomi was eating some pancakes, whilst Ella and Chelsea stuck to coffee.

“You know,” Ella said. “If you eat now, you won't have any appetite for the beach party.”

“Nah, I will,” Naomi said. “You have no idea of the level of food I can eat throughout the day.”

“Big eater, huh?” Chelsea said. “Just don't let the calories catch up with you.”

“Girl,” Naomi said. “I'm constantly rushing myself around on these skates here so I think I'm pretty good.”

“You're wearing your skates?” Ella said. She raised her eyebrows. “For a beach party?”

“Duh,” Naomi said. “What else am I supposed to wear? These are like the only shoes I own!”

“For real?” Chelsea said.

“Yeah!” Naomi said confidently. “A true skater girl can't be seen dead without her skates!”

“If you say so,” Ella said. “But you don't see me attached to any of my gear, do you?”

“But skating is a totally different world!” Naomi said. “You can't rest, not even for a minute!”

“Huh,” Chelsea said. “Skating never struck me as something that intense.”

“Believe me, it is!” Naomi exclaimed.

“All right then,” Ella said. “But don't come crying to me when your skates get covered in sand.”

“Oh,” Naomi said. “I hadn't thought of that. That could pose a huge problem!”

“So we're finally on the same page,” Ella said dryly.

“Don't be like that,” Chelsea said.

“Sorry,” Ella replied. “I was just making some suggestions.”

Naomi smiled widely. “And I appreciate them!” she exclaimed. “Thanks to you, I'll be sure to keep my skates safe!”

“Glad to help,” Ella said, sipping from the coffee.

“I'm happy to have such helpful friends!” Naomi exclaimed. She ate another pancake in record speak. “Oh, but now I'm all kinds of pumped up for this beach party! When do we begin?!”

“I guess when Shauna arrives,” Chelsea said. She looked to the entrance as Nina and Ben walked through, talking to each other. “Hopefully it shouldn't be too long now.”

-

“And then, it's just a matter of placing each pixel in the right place,” Nina said to Ben as they sat down. “Of course, if you're looking for animations, that's a whole other story.”

“It actually doesn't sound as hard as I thought,” Ben said. He was holding a notepad with him. The back page had several notes scribbled over it from Nina's talk about pixel art. She had decided to tell him all about it just before heading down to breakfast.

“Once you get the hang of it,” Nina said. “After a while, it'll be as easy as typing on a computer!”

“Well, I have an idea for a new project,” Ben said, flashing a friendly smile. “I'll call it Nina.”

“Oh stop it you!” Nina said, laughing. “Any old online tutorial will give you even more information.”

“But we have no internet right now,” Ben said. “You're the best I have.”

“You're far too kind!” Nina replied, grinning widely.

“Um, excuse me.” They both looked up to see Charlie standing there. “Can I sit with you?”

“Of course!” Nina said. “Take a seat!”

“Thank you,” Charlie said. She sat down next to Nina. “By the way, I began playing your game last night.”

“Really?” Nina said. “What do you think of it?”

“It's really interesting!” Charlie said. “And I think I managed to go down the route of magical-girl adventure.”

“That was the most fun to come up with, you know?” Nina said. “How far are you into it?”

“The final act of chapter one,” Charlie said. “I think it's still the tutorial stage.”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “But I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying it!”

“Which game is this?” Ben asked.

“Carefree Starlight,” Nina explained. “Heard of it?”

“Oh yeah!” Ben said. “That's my current favourite game!”

“And may I ask how far you're into it?” Nina said.

“Chapter five, act four, sci-fi route,” Ben said.

“PC port?” Nina asked. Ben nodded. “Oh, man. Be sure to keep a box of tissues with you; there's a very specific scene that's coming up that will emotionally wreck you.”

“Please don't tell me Sariah's going to go through with her suicide mission,” Ben said.

“My lips are sealed,” Nina said with a wink. She mimed zipping her mouth shut.

“Mind if I change the subject?” Charlie said. “Is anybody looking forward to the beach party?”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “I can't wait! I spoke to Shauna last night about it, and if what she says is any indication, it's going to be awesome!”

“My childhood practically consisted of spending summer exclusively at the beach,” Ben said. “So yeah, I'm excited.”

“What time is it now?” Charlie asked.

“Eight thirty,” Nina said. “I don't think we should be waiting much longer for everything to kick off.”

-

On the other side of the cafeteria, Wyatt sat with Carlos, watching the scene unfold in front of them. Mark was currently interviewing John, having set up a space for his camera to stand on its tripod.

“So, John,” Mark began. He was wearing a friendly grin. “Tell me. What's it like being the ETL Empath?”

“I don't know,” John said. “I don't feel especially different in any way now that I have the title. It's just that I can tell so much from a person just by looking at them.”

“Sounds impressive,” Mark said with impossible charisma. “Let's see it in action, then!”

“Okay,” John said. “So long as you're okay with any potential personal information leaking.”

“I'm fine with it!” Mark said.

“Good,” John said. “So, Mark, from my observations, it appears that you're an energetic individual who strives to create harmony and joy within a large group of people. You are viewing this entire documentary as both a learning experience and a sentimental keepsake, as being in showbiz you know nothing lasts forever. Also, you appear to be doing this to impress someone that you may or may not be attracted to.”

“Oh, wow,” Mark said. “It's just as they say: you're brilliant!”

“Thanks,” John said. “It's nice to be able to use this talent in a more relaxed environment.”

“What do you mean?” Mark asked.

“It's just that normally I'm associated with the police,” John said with a shrug. “I can perfectly envision the way a crime has been carried out, and my psychological profiling is so accurate that they usually catch the culprit within twenty four hours of the crime occurring.”

“Goodness,” Mark said. “Well then. I guess if there's ever a mystery that needs solving, we can come to the ETL Empath to help us out!”

There was a brief lull in the conversation, and Mark turned the camera off.

“Done?” Carlos asked.

“Yep!” Mark said. “Every last ETL has been interviewed. I'll film the beach party, and then spend tonight editing it to present the first episode of the Sun's Joy documentary series by this time tomorrow.”

“You can really do it by then?” Wyatt asked.

“Trust me on this,” Mark said. “I'm an expert.”

“Good to know,” John said. “Should we tell the others?”

“Not just yet,” Mark said. “Wait until the beach party. It seems like a more fitting place to break the news, doesn't it?”

“I guess,” Wyatt said. He smiled. “I think this documentary will be the best way to bring us all together.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Since for the first time, I fail to see any conflicting personalities anywhere!”

“Hopefully it remains that way,” Wyatt said. “The group dynamic is working brilliantly so far, for once.”

“For once?” Carlos asked. “What do you mean?”

“Being a fashion designer means I've been with all kinds of model groups,” Wyatt explained. “Male, female... you name it, I've seen it.”

“And?” Mark said.

“Whilst they all look gorgeous on the runway,” Wyatt said, “back-stage, the dynamic is vicious. Everyone's only looking out for themselves, and they'll stop at nothing to get their way.”

“Whoa,” Mark said. “Sounds cheery.”

“Tell me about it,” Wyatt said with a sigh. “I'm just glad to be free of it all here.”

“I completely understand,” John said.

“Of course you do,” Carlos said. “You can feel whatever we feel.”

“No, I mean personally,” John said. “My personal experiences were the same; it was all about who could be the most hostile to me. Half of the people I worked with believed I was a fraud, and the other half wanted to be the sole people that could use me.”

“Yikes,” Mark said. “I've never had to really face anything beyond some interview arguments.”

“I guess you're lucky then,” John said. “But anyway, that's all behind us, isn't it?”

“I suppose,” Mark said.

At that moment in time, the doors to the cafeteria opened, revealing Shauna, Melissa, and Joel. Melissa and Joel were both pushing carts piled up with supplies, whilst Shauna stood in front, still holding her puppet Cammy.

“Hello everyone!” she said brightly. “Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, but we're finally ready to head to the beach!”

“That's great news!” Nina said.

“I have to admit, I'm rather excited,” Marian said.

“This is going to be great!” Mark exclaimed.

“Indeed it is!” Shauna said confidently. Cammy shook in her arms as she walked into the middle of the cafeteria. “We have two carts piled high with food, water, bathing suits, beach supplies... everything!”

“Where did you get everything from?” Chelsea asked.

“The food and water came from the cafeteria,” Melissa explained. “And most of the other stuff came from the pool.”

“I helped find it,” Joel said.

“Haha, this is rad to the max!” Naomi exclaimed. “What are we waiting for?! Let's head down to the beach!” Naomi leaped up from her seat, and began to skate across the room. But as she did so, a noise rang out that stopped her in her tracks.

“ _A-hem!! Mic test, mic test! Can you hear me?”_

Melissa froze when she heard the voice. It was the same voice that had sounded out when she received her ElectroID. She glanced over at Shauna, and saw the same recognition on her friend's face. Looking across the cafeteria, it appeared everyone had heard the voice before.

“ _This is an important announcement from the headmaster of Sun's Joy Academy!! Can every Enhanced Talent Level student gather in the meeting hall? It's time for the welcoming ceremony!!”_

“Wait!” Nina said. “I thought that was supposed to be tomorrow?”

“It is,” Dirk said. He lifted his PDA. “The schedule says for the ceremony to begin Monday at nine-thirty. It's Sunday today.”

“That's strange,” Melissa said. “Why change the date suddenly?”

“I don't know,” Shauna said. “I just hope this doesn't cut into our time for the beach party too much!”

“These kind of things can take up to two hours though,” Marian said. “It may be some time before we get to go to the beach then.”

“Aww...” Naomi said. “I was really looking forward to it!”

“We'll still go,” Shauna reasoned. “We'll just have to wait a while, is all.”

“I'm interested in why they're making it today,” Mark said. “Perhaps they heard of our plans to head to the beach, and don't approve?”

“Interesting theory,” John said. “But I don't think anyone in this place would be that spiteful.”

“I guess it all depends,” Marian said. “The best course of action right now is to head down to the meeting hall and get this over and done with. Remember: the longer it takes to get there, the longer we'll have to wait until we can head to the beach.” Marian stood up from her seat, and walked past Melissa, leaving the cafeteria.

“I suggest we follow Marian's example,” Shauna said. “Let's head down to the meeting hall, everyone!”

Melissa followed Shauna out of the cafeteria, and towards the stairs. As they approached the stairs, Dirk caught up to them.

“Hey,” Melissa said. “What do you want?”

“Nothing,” Dirk said. “From you, anyway. From them? I want answers. They can't just change up the schedule like that.”

“Apparently they can,” Melissa said dryly.

“Come on now,” Shauna said. “It's not the end of the world. I guarantee we'll be at the beach by noon!”

“Hopefully,” Melissa said. They began to descend the staircase. Naomi slid down the banister on the other side. She flashed them a smile before she began to skate down the hallway out of sight. “Although, this seems to be killing the mood somewhat.”

“Yeah,” Shauna said. “However, we'll all be in the mood once we're actually there.” She shifted Cammy in her arms as they reached the hallway below. It was the same hallway Melissa had walked through when she first arrived at Sun's Joy; the sign was still there, directing them to the hall.

“It's this way,” Dirk said, motioning to the sign. “Come on.”

Melissa and Shauna followed Dirk through the hallway to the meeting hall's entrance. They reached the door just as Ella vanished behind it.

“Well,” Melissa said, “let's get this over with.” She pushed open the door, and the three of them stepped inside. Surprisingly, the hall was in the exact same condition it was in yesterday. They quickly sat down on one of the seats as the final few people filed in. Mark was the last to enter, and sat down next to Melissa.

“Hey,” he said with a smile. “Did I miss anything?”

“No,” Melissa said. “We've sort of just been waiting here. What took you so long anyway?”

“Bathroom,” Mark said simply.

“Oh,” Melissa said, rightfully lacking the intention to press any further. “Too much information, don't you think?”

“Sorry,” Mark said.

The two of them stopped talking, and sat in silence along with the other students for the next few minutes. But as they sat there, Melissa became aware that something wasn't right. The atmosphere was heavy, and she had a real bad feeling about all of this. Every instinct was telling her to get up right now, and run as far away from this place as possible. Shauna saw the distress on her friend's face, and was about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly a party whistle sounded out from the stage.

Every eye turned to face the stage as confetti rained down from the ceiling. And then, from behind the podium, a small teddy bear leaped up, teetering on top of the podium. It was half white, half black. Its white side appeared like any other teddy bear, but the right side contained a sinister grin and flashing red eye.

“Ha!” Naomi cried out from her seat. “How adorable! I've never seen a teddy bear like that before!”

“Hey!” the bear suddenly cried out. It jumped off of the podium, and landed on the stage. “I'm no teddy bear! It's despairingly awful of you to see me as nothing but a mere toy!”

“What?!” Mark exclaimed. He tensed up. “It can talk!”

“I'm no it either!” the bear said, almost appearing to glare at the students. “I'm Monobear! And I'm the headmaster of Sun's Joy Academy!”

“But you're a toy,” Marian said. “How can you have any form of authority? You're no different to Shauna's puppet, really.”

Chelsea then turned to Shauna. “Hey Shauna,” she said. “Is this some kind of prank you're pulling!”

“What?” Shauna said. “No! Why would I do that?”

“Exactly,” Monobear said. “Now you bastards should really think before you reduce me to the same league as that ugly puppet.” His head sunk down, and a sigh escaped from him.

“Wait a second,” Melissa said. “Your voice! It's the same one I heard when I received my ElectroID!”

“As I said, that's because I'm headmaster!” Monobear exclaimed. “What kind of headmaster would I be if I didn't offer my students their own ElectroIDs?”

“Whatever,” Dirk said coldly. “Just who the hell's controlling you, and why won't you show your face? This is all pretty childish.”

“How rude!” Monobear cried out. “I'm Monobear! I don't need someone to control me!”

“Oh my god,” Dirk said. He stood up. “That's it. I'm out of here.”

“Leaving is impossible, by the way,” Monobear said, staring at Dirk. “And the hall is locked until the ceremony is over, so if I were you, I'd sit down again.”

“And if I don't?” Dirk challenged Monobear.

“I'll have no choice but to impale you,” Monobear said. He then pulled out a bayonet from seemingly nowhere. This was enough to whip the students into a frenzy.

“He's got a weapon!” Naomi cried out. She, and several others, also leaped up, beginning to back away from Monobear. “We have to get out!”

“Sit down! All of you!” Monobear ordered. “Or I will have to impale all of you!” Melissa watched from her seat as those who had stood up sat down again uncomfortably. Those who had chosen to sit on the front row now sat as far back as possible. The bayonet had vanished. “Thank you. Now we can continue!”

“Continue with what?” Mark asked.

“You bastards sure are curious ones, aren't you?” Monobear said. “No matter, I'm a patient bear, so I have all the time in the world to tell you bastards what needs to be told!”

“Okay then,” Marian said. “We're listening.”

“Excellent!” Monobear said. “Now, the first thing on the agenda is this: Sun's Joy Academy is to be your new home!”

“I'm pretty sure we already established this ourselves,” Ella said dryly.

“You misunderstand,” Monobear said. “What I mean is, this school is where you're going to be spending the rest of your pathetic lives!”

“What?!” Carlos exclaimed. “You can't be serious!”

“I'm entirely serious,” Monobear said. “You're isolated from the rest of the world by thousands of miles of ocean. There's no phone-lines, no internet... you bastards are entirely isolated!”

“So that's why we haven't had any internet connection,” Nina said. “But why isolate us?”

“So that nobody will interfere with your new school life!” Monobear said. “We can't have the authorities ruining our good time, can we?”

“Surely our friends and family will notice if they suddenly don't hear from us!” Joel exclaimed.

“Eh, probably,” Monobear said. “But worry not! There is indeed a way out of this place!”

“Really?” Ella said. “What is it?”

“You graduate!!” Monobear exclaimed, throwing his paws up in the air.

“That it?” Dirk said. “Then we'll all be out of here by next summer, if you aren't aware.”

“No no no!” Monobear. “You're wrong!” His red eye suddenly flashed ominously. “Graduation isn't about completing a school year, no. In fact, one of you bastards could be out of here by tomorrow!”

“I doubt that claim,” Marian said.

“I'm only speaking the truth!” Monobear said. “Anyway, to graduate, there is only one rule: you have to kill another student! Upupu!”

A silence descended upon the hall. Chills ran through everyone's bodies as they looked at Monobear in disbelief.

“K-kill?” Shauna said, eyes wide. Cammy drooped in her arms. She didn't bother to fix him. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly serious!” Monobear said. “Can you bastards get any dumber!”

“So let me get this straight,” Dirk said coolly. “If I were to, say, suddenly kill Melissa, you'd let me out?”

“I appreciate your drive,” Monobear said. “But it's not that simple!”

“I knew it,” Marian said. “So come on, Monobear, what's the catch?”

“To successfully complete graduation,” Monobear said, “you must survive the school trial!”

“Trial?” Ben asked.

“Yes,” Monobear replied. “In a school trial, you bastards will have to deduce who the culprit of the murder is. The culprit's job is to avoid detection, obviously, whilst the innocents have to figure out whodunnit!”

“Is that it?” Wyatt said.

“Nope!” Monobear said. “At the end of the trial, you bastards must vote on who you think is guilty. If you are correct, the culprit is punished. But if you are incorrect, then everyone besides the culprit will be punished!”

“W-what do you mean by 'punished'?” Charlie asked, her voice trembling.

“I thought I made myself obvious,” Monobear said, tilting his head. “But I guess I have to spell it out for you bastards: punishment means execution. Are we all clear on this?”

“What?!” Naomi shrieked. “You can't do that!”

“I can and I will,” Monobear said. “End of discussion.”

“So we have the what out of the way,” John added. “The next question is: why?”

“Why?” Monobear asked. “Simple! You bastards are supposedly the hope of the future, right? So to see you all fall into the despair of the School Life of Mutual Killing will be delightful?”

“School Life of Mutual Killing?” Melissa said. “You've even come up with a title for it?”

“Of course!” Monobear said. “What kind of bear would I be if I didn't!”

“Somewhat more normal...” Andrew said, his voice faltering.

“But anyway,” Marian said. “Sure, you've announced all this. But do you really think any of us will kill?”

“Aha!” Monobear suddenly shouted. “That's where it gets even better! See, I knew that you bastards wouldn't eagerly succumb to the School Life of Mutual Killing, so I have devised a series of motives to get the ball rolling!”

“What kind of motive?” Marian asked.

“Whatever I feel like at the time, really,” Monobear said nonchalantly. “However, this motive has been especially designed to kick off your new School Life of Mutual Killing! Watch this!” Monobear pulled out a remote consisting of one single big red button. He pressed it.

All of a sudden, a low groaning sound reverberated throughout the building. The students looked at one another, before a metallic whirring reached their ears. Every eye turned upwards to see the massive skylight on the ceiling. A large iron plate was sliding over the window, sealing it up. For a few moments, darkness descended upon the hall, before the lights switched on, illuminating the room once more.

“What was that?” Ella said.

“The motive!” Monobear exclaimed. “Until one of you bastards commits a murder, you will all be trapped inside the main building! No more sea, sand, or sun for you bastards!”

“What?!” Naomi yelled. “But we were going to have a beach party today!”

“Too bad,” Monobear said. “If you want to see the beach again, just kill! It's that simple! Upupu!”

“Sure, it's awful,” Shauna said. “But do you really think trapping us inside a building is enough to cause us to kill?”

“But Shauna,” Joel said. “You were the one looking forward to it the most!”

“Well, not if it's at the expense of another's life,” Shauna said. “I guess we'll just have to think of something else to do then.” She glared at Monobear.

“Oh!” he said. “That reminds me! Check your ElectroIDs – I've updated the academy rules!” Monobear teetered on the spot. “Upupu! I can really feel the despair emanating from you all!”

“Shut up,” Dirk said. “We don't care how you get off on despair or whatever.”

“How hurtful!” Monobear said. “And after all I've done...”

“You trapped us in a building and told us we would never see the light of day again unless we kill someone,” Marian said flatly. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Psh. Whatever,” Monobear said. “You speak all high and mighty now, but I guarantee at least one of you bastards will fall into despair.” He walked along the rows of chairs. “Enjoy your new School Life of Mutual Killing!” Monobear then suddenly disappeared, leaving the students inside the sealed up meeting hall.

Shauna and Marian both stood up at the same time. They looked at each other, knowing they both had the same intention.

“You go first,” Shauna said to Marian.

“Thanks,” Marian said. She turned to face the crowd. “Could I please have everyone's attention?” Any whispered conversations that were going on died out as everyone looked up at the ETL Lawyer. “All right then. Now, the first thing we are going to establish is this: nobody is giving in to Monobear's killing game, all right?”

“How can you be sure?” Charlie said anxiously.

“Because we're still in the real world,” Marian said. “If we hold out long enough, someone will come to our rescue and take down whatever Monobear is. It may take some time, but we just have to keep holding on.”

“I don't know,” Naomi said. “There's no way we can all remain cooped up in this building for the rest of forever!”

“It won't be forever,” Marian said. “It will only be for a little while. This will soon be behind us.”

“I'm in agreement with Marian here,” Shauna said. “Taking part in that game will only end badly. So get that idea out of your heads right now, got it?”

“Okay then,” Joel said. “But now what do we do?”  
“Perhaps check the rules,” Shauna said. “In a hostage situation, it's best to follow any rules set by your captor.”

“That's an interesting thing to know,” John said. “How do you know that?”

“When I was a child I was held at gunpoint by a drug addict,” Shauna said. “But that's not important.”

“I'll check the rules,” Melissa said. She opened up her ElectroID, and selected 'Academy Rules'.

**Sun's Joy Academy: School Life of Mutual Killing Rules**

  1. **Acts of violence against the headmaster are prohibited**

  2. **Destruction of surveillance equipment is prohibited**

  3. **In order to graduate, murder another student without being discovered**

  4. **After a body has been discovered, a few hours will be allocated to investigate before a school trial is held**

  5. **If the culprit is correctly identified, they alone will be punished**

  6. **If an innocent person is wrongly identified, everyone will be punished besides the true culprit**

  7. **Accomplices to the murder will not count as culprits if they did not actually commit a murder**

  8. **Each prospective killer may only murder up to two students**

  9. **The time period between 10pm and 7am will be known as Night Time – certain areas will be restricted at this point**

  10. **The courtroom is now restricted except in the event of a school trial**




**Further rules will be added as necessary**

“They've really thought this through, then...” Chelsea said, viewing her own ElectroID. “What if someone actually commits a murder?”

“Yeah,” Andrew added. “Right now, all I can think of is whether or not I'll be killed.”

“Don't think that way,” Shauna said. She adjusted Cammy again. “You're letting Monobear win by thinking like that.”

“It's hardly our fault if that's all we can think of,” Carlos said.

Shauna sighed. “Sorry, I know,” she said. “You know what? We need to do something to take our minds off of this whole murder business.” She forced a smile. The others seemed to buy it, even if some were just lying to themselves.

“But what do you suggest?” Naomi said. “Our beach plans have crashed and burned.”

“I know,” Shauna said. “But there's still stuff to do in this building!We have this meeting hall, the IT room, and two more ETL areas!”

“I have an idea,” Nina said. “Why not throw a dance or something in this hall?”

“That's actually not a bad idea,” Shauna said. “Anyone agree with this idea?”

“I'm okay with it,” Dirk said.

“It could be fun,” Wyatt said.

“Why not?” Ella said. “I mean, I could easily set up the music, no problem.”

“I'd be able to make the decorations,” Ben said.

“And I have a bunch of material in my room I brought with me here,” Wyatt said. “I could whip up a bunch of outfits for us all.”

“That sounds great!” Shauna said. “Does anyone else have any contributions?”

“Well, I'd be willing to help out with things such as decorations,” Charlie said. “And I think a few more of us would be.” Several other people nodded in confirmation.

“Perfect,” Shauna said. “Now all we need to decide on is a date and time.”

“Setting up all the sound equipment will probably take a day or so,” Ella said. “Sorry, but I'll need time to familiarise myself with what we have, and then move it down here.”

“Same with the outfits,” Wyatt said. “It takes time to produce sixteen outfits; we're looking at tomorrow by the earliest.”

“Okay then,” Shauna said. “Then how about tomorrow evening?”

“That sounds good,” Andrew said. “And it gives us time to set everything up perfectly.”

“Tomorrow evening it is then,” Shauna said. “It's nine-thirty now, so that gives us until ten tonight at the earliest to complete the first set of preparations.”

“But Monobear said that he locked the doors to this hall,” Joel said.

“They're unlocked now,” Dirk said.

“What? How can you tell?” Joel demanded.

“One door is slightly ajar,” Dirk said, motioning to the door. “Hardly locked, is it?”

“Oh, yeah,” Joel said sheepishly.

“All right then!” Shauna said. She moved Cammy again. “I think we should get going on preparing for this dance! Everyone know what they're doing?” Several nods. “And for those without a set job, just find someone who's already working on something and ask to help out!”

“Um, Shauna,” Melissa said. “I don't mean to be rude, but what if someone's already planning a murder?”

“We can't accept that,” Shauna said. “But just for the time being, we should try and avoid moving around alone just in case that tiny possibility is true. It should be safer for everyone.”

“I'm okay with this,” Melissa said.

“Okay,” Shauna announced. “With that settled, we can now begin to prepare for what will surely be the best dance ever!”

Everyone stood up from their seats, and began to file out of the meeting hall. A few people had their worries put to rest by this plan, but others were still full of terror. They were all trying to tell themselves that the School Life of Mutual Killing was a joke, but deep down, everyone knew that this was their new reality.


	5. Preparations

Mark walked along the hallway, the light bulbs replacing the sunlight that would have normally filtered through the now sealed windows. For some reason, a chill ran through him. It was fairly understandable to be like this, though: they had all just been trapped inside this building and told that if they wanted to see the light of day again, they'd have to commit a murder and get away with it.

The question on his mind was simple: was anyone actually going to go through with it? He hoped not, and if his interviews had been any indication, they were all good people.

“Good people can turn bad, though...” he told himself as he climbed the stairs back up to the second floor where the cafeteria resided. He wasn't even sure why he was heading in this direction, but it felt like the right way to go. His camera felt oddly heavy in his hands, as if the guilt of knowing he could have filmed a potential killer was manifesting itself as the weight of the equipment. No, he told himself. If anyone was to kill, it would not be his fault.

Besides, with Shauna's party being planned, it would take everyone's minds off of the School Life of Mutual Killing, provided Monobear didn't try anything. If he did, that would probably dampen the mood further.

Mark glanced at his camera again. The device was on, and was displaying a frozen frame of the latest recording: Monobear's face was on the screen. Shame burned inside him for filming the entirety of the welcoming ceremony, but he felt he had to. He had to document every moment within this hellish academy as proof it actually happened.

“Yo Mark,” a voice said from behind him. Mark tensed up and switched off the camera. He turned around to see Dirk standing there.

“Oh, hey,” he replied. “Are you okay?”

“About as okay as you can get regarding the situation,” Dirk said airily. “Anyway, I need you to come with me.”

“What?” Mark asked.

“We're heading up to the IT room,” Dirk said. “There's something I need to do.”

“But why me?” Mark said. “And what about the party?”

“We'll get to that later,” Dirk said. “It's not until tomorrow anyway, is it?”

“I suppose,” Mark said. “But let's hurry up.”

The IT room was on the floor above the dorms, and was essentially a large room lined with computers. A large screen was on one of the walls, with a projector facing it. Every computer was turned off except for two. Ella was sat at one of them, and the other one Dirk was using, Mark assumed.

“Hello Mark,” Ella said, looking up from her screen. She was wearing a large pair of headphones.

“Hi Ella,” Mark replied. “What are you doing?”

“Creating the playlist for the dance,” Ella said. “Dirk helped me remotely access everyone's music players to create a playlist nobody will hate.” She smiled wryly. “I feel like some kind of super-spy.”

“Don't worry,” Dirk said to Mark. “We just copied the files from everyone's iPods.”

“Even mine?” Mark said, curious.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “I didn't actually alter anything though. That's saved for when I can hack Monobear's network.”

“You think you can do it?” Mark said. “And can we speak about this? Isn't Monobear monitoring everything?”

“He is,” Dirk said. “But he's confident that I won't be able to do it.”

“Anyway,” Mark said. “What is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh yeah,” Dirk said. He motioned to the computer. “Take a look at this.”

“All right then,” Mark said. He cautiously sat down in front of the computer, and moved the mouse. The screen burst to life, displaying the paused image of a video. A chill ran throughout Mark's body as he stared at the screen. He recognised the scene immediately: it was from when he did the report on the Despair event in Japan. This was his interview with a member of a group called the Super High School Level Despair. He vaguely recalled the name – Junko Enoshima or something.

“Seem familiar?” Dirk said.

“Yeah,” Mark said, trembling. “But how are you accessing it?”

“Found it on your iPod along with your music,” Dirk said.

“Okay then,” Mark said. “What's the significance of this then?”

“You don't remember?” Dirk said. “Just play the report. You'll see it.”

“All right,” Mark said. He pressed play, watching the interview.

“Who are you?” the girl said. She was stood in the middle of a burning street. “I'm Junko Enoshima, leader of the SHSL Despair!”

“I'm Mark,” Mark heard himself say. “And I'm doing a report on this incident. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Of course!” Junko chirped. “Anything for my adoring public! Upupu~” Mark froze when he heard the words escape Junko's mouth. She had said it in exactly the same way as Monobear had done. He glanced at the screen, and nearly fell off his chair when he saw it: Junko was holding Monobear in her arms, giving the peace sign to the camera.

“Switch it off,” Mark said harshly. “Now.”

“Okay,” Dirk said. He pressed a button. The video disappeared. “So you now see?”

“Yeah, I see it all right,” Mark said. “I have no doubt that girl's responsible for this.”

“Then that means the Despair Event's spread,” Dirk said.

“What if it's affecting our families?” Mark said.

“That's why we need to get out of here right now,” Dirk said. “We may actually be on the brink of the end of the world.”

“What?” Ella said from across the room, having taken her headphones out. “Did you say the end of the world.”

“I did,” Dirk said. “Our families may be in great danger.”

“No way,” Ella said. Her face turned pale. “Are you sure?”

“Monobear is from the Despair Event,” Dirk said. “He seems to be the puppet of the leader – Junko Enoshima.”

“Oh my god,” Ella said. She walked over to the two of them. “I have to see.”

“Sure,” Dirk said. He began to browse through the files. “I'll show you.”

“Just make it quick,” Mark said. He was still reeling from the fact that he had interviewed the person that was now imprisoning him.

“And here,” Dirk said. A new video was displayed on screen, the thumbnail being that of Junko Enoshima holding Monobear in her arms in a way that was strikingly similar to Shauna with Cammy. “Let me just press play, and—God damn it! What the hell?!” All of a sudden, the computer froze before going into a blue-screen crash. After what seemed like ages of staring at the error message, the computer shut down.

“Whoops! I guess I didn't iron out all these problems before letting you bastards loose! Oh well!” Everyone turned around to see Monobear standing in front of them.

“G-get away from us!” Ella shrieked, backing up against the table. “You... you gremlin!”

“What's with all the insults?” Monobear said. He lowered his head and sighed. “I'm nothing but a benevolent headmaster! I'm not even forcing you to kill against your will!”

“Benevolent my ass,” Dirk said. “You shut down this computer to stop us seeing the footage, didn't you?”

“Accusations flying everywhere!” Monobear fumed. “Why would I do such a thing?”

“Don't insult our intelligence,” Dirk said. “You didn't want us seeing any more footage of the Despair event. Admit it.”

“Okay, okay!” Monobear snapped. He turned to face Mark, his red eye glowing. “I admit it! And if you show it ever again, you will be executed!”

Mark shrunk in his seat. “S-sorry,” he stammered. “But I didn't even play it!”

“Don't hurt him,” Dirk said. “I accessed his private files.”

“And why would you do that?!” Monobear said.

“Let me explain,” Ella said. “We're throwing a dance tomorrow, and I'm compiling a playlist of everyone's favourite songs.”

“Eh, how boring,” Monobear said. “I was expecting something fun! Like a firing squad!”

“That's not very fun...” Mark said.

“Your tastes just aren't very refined!” Monobear said.

“Anyway, that's why we're looting through everyone's files,” Ella said. “Nothing to worry about.”

“If you say so...” Monobear said. “And in fact, I can't wait to see you all at the dance! I wonder who'll dance with Monobear...? Just thinking about it gets me all sweaty!”

“That's repulsive,” Dirk said.

“Shut up,” Monobear said. “Anyway, I'll see you bastards around. Have fun with the School Life of Mutual Killing! Upupu!” And with that, Monobear left.

“Damn it,” Dirk said. “Sorry Ella, but I guess I can't show you.”

“It's fine,” Ella said, visibly shaken. “That thumbnail was more than enough for me to see anyway.”

“Anyway,” Mark said. “I don't think Monobear wants us talking about that any more.”

“I'm okay with that,” Ella said. “Now if you don't mind, I'm going to continue to create the playlist.” She walked away from the two of them, returning to her computer.

“Now what?” Mark said to Dirk.

“Not sure,” Dirk said. “But I do know that I won't rest until we're out of here.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Anyway, any plans for the dance?”

“I'm personally on the fence about it,” Dirk said.

“Why?” Mark asked.

“Because Monobear's more than likely to gate crash,” Dirk said. “However, it otherwise sounds like a good idea.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “And besides, it allows for us all to be in one place, making it nearly impossible for a murder to happen.”

“There's that too,” Dirk said. “Although, I'm just wondering about getting out still. This dance may provide us with the perfect opportunity.”  
“How?” Mark said.

“Simple enough,” Dirk said. “We all go to the dance. Monobear gate crashes, leaving him unable to monitor everything. I leave the dance early, and try and hack the system.”

“You think you can do it?” Mark asked.

“Probably,” Dirk said. “If the timing's right, and Shauna doesn't drag me along.”

Ella then suddenly stood up from her seat. “I've finished the playlist,” she said.

“That's great news!” Mark said.

Ella smiled. “Glad you think so.” She then began to walk across the IT room. Mark noticed that the computer had been switched off. “I've got the playlist on a USB drive, if you're wondering.”

“Where are you heading now?” Dirk said.

“I'm going to see Shauna,” Ella said. “I need to see if she's had any luck in finding some more speakers.”

“Okay then,” Mark said. “See you around.”

“See you,” Ella said. She left the IT room. Mark and Dirk remained there in silence for a few moments.

“Now what?” Mark said.

“I'm gonna stay here for a while,” Dirk said. “Gonna try my luck with the network again.”

“All right then,” Mark said. “I might go and see if anyone needs help anywhere.”

“You do that,” Dirk said with a grin. “I might head out soon if I don't get anywhere.”

“Okay then,” Mark said. He stood up from his seat, and walked towards the doorway. “Later.”

-

“Charlie, could you place the palette over there?” Ben asked.

“Oh! Sorry,” Charlie said. She carried the palette over to the table on the far side of the art studio. Nina was perched on the edge of the table, engrossed in playing on a GameBoy.

“A little retro, don't you think?” Carlos asked. He was stood over Nina, watching her play Kirby.

“I know,” Nina said. “You can't beat the classics though!”

“Um, shouldn't you two be helping?” Charlie said as sternly as she could muster.

“We're just taking a break,” Nina said.

“A break that's been going on for over an hour,” Chelsea said dryly from across the studio as she painted onto a banner. It currently read 'Enhanced Talent Level Dance Night!'. Melissa had come up with it earlier when she and Shauna had checked up on them. Chelsea had found it charmingly clever. Ben had had no argument either. So that was the current motto.

She dipped the brush in the water, before dipping it in a pale yellow and placing the brush on the outline of a sun in the corner.

“Wait!” Ben called over to Chelsea before she touched the banner.

“What is it?” Chelsea asked.

“Don't use that brush,” he offered. “The strokes will be uneven. Try a thinner one.”

“Oh, okay,” Chelsea said. “You're the artist here.” She placed the brush down and picked up the thinner one, dipping it in the same paint. As Ben had said, the strokes were much smoother, and she had managed to evenly coat the shape in around five minutes.

“Looks good,” Ben said. He was currently using spray paints on a large sphere – he was creating a disco ball.

“So's yours,” Chelsea said. She smiled warmly.

“Thanks,” Ben replied. “I'm glad to hear that.” He then looked behind him. “Hey, Nina, how are the tablecloths going?”

“Oh,” Nina said, quickly hiding the game console. “They're going great!”

“I can see from here you've only painted one of them,” Ben said dryly. “The aim is to complete everything today to allow it time to dry overnight.”

“Sorry,” Nina said.

“Charlie, could you help them?” Ben said. “They're useless on their own...”

“Okay,” Charlie said. She picked up a paintbrush, and sat down at the table, beginning to paint palm trees onto the cloth.

“Much better,” Ben said.

“You're good,” Chelsea said.

“Well, after running a pre-school art club, you learn how to deal with this kind of behaviour,” Ben said.

“It's kind of funny, you know?” Chelsea said.

“What is?” Ben said.

“This entire situation,” Chelsea exclaimed. “I mean, we've been trapped in this school by a demonic teddy bear, told to kill each other, are instead preparing for a dance, and you're comparing Enhanced Talent Level students to preschoolers!”

Ben chuckled. “I suppose it is kind of funny when you put it that way,” he said.

“Hey now! That's not funny at all!” Monobear suddenly appeared from nowhere, standing between Chelsea and Ben. Chelsea leaped back, letting out a yelp of surprise. “I'm not a teddy bear!”

“Get out of here!” Chelsea cried out.

“Why?” Monobear said. “So you can get back to flirting with the ETL Abstract Artist?”

Chelsea flushed red. “I am not flirting!”

“Whatever,” Monobear said. “Just remember, keep it PG-13 if you're not in the dorm rooms.”

“Oh my god!” Chelsea exclaimed.

“I don't actually care,” Monobear said. “Just be careful that he isn't actually plotting to murder you!”

“Why would I do that?” Ben said. “I'm not stupid enough to fall into this game, Monobear.”

“That's what they all say!” Monobear said. “Anyway, you're distracting me from the main point!”

“Which is?” Chelsea said. She folded her arms, and glared at him. The others had become aware of the commotion, and were watching from across the room.

“You bastards and your appalling secret planning skills!” Monobear cried out. “I've overheard you bastards are planning a dance for tomorrow without telling your dear headmaster. I feel put out!”

“Of course we're not going to tell you,” Chelsea said, keeping her voice steely. “And could you stop calling us bastards? It's not really appropriate language for this kind of setting, and especially not from a headmaster.”

“I'm just imitating the vocabulary of a modern teen!” Monobear exclaimed. “You bastards swear like sailors all the time! I'm trying to connect with you!”

“To be fair, I only do that when I'm annoyed at a game,” Nina pitched in. “I don't think anyone openly swears to people as casually as you do.”

“And I think if Charlie tried to swear, the world would implode,” Carlos said. He smiled at Charlie. Charlie avoided his gaze, and returned to painting the tablecloths, going bright red.

“Ah, yes, how sweet-mannered!” Monobear said. “I'd watch out; she's most likely going to be the first culprit!”

“What!” Charlie exclaimed. “I wouldn't ever—”

“That's enough,” Chelsea said. “Now, is there a point to your presence? Or are you just trying to rile us up into killing each other left and right?”

“I would never do such a thing!” Monobear said. “You bastards can be so mean sometimes!”

“Just get to the point,” Ben said.

“Okay, okay!” Monobear snapped. “I just want to know about the dance you bastards are putting on, is all.”

“And why do you want to know that?” Nina said.

“So I can be crowned prom king!” Monobear said, chuckling.

“You're not invited,” Chelsea said.

“Hurtful!” Monobear said. “And after constructing this academy just for you!”

“Fine,” she groaned. “I guess you can stand outside of the hall or something. Just don't interact with us on the evening, okay?”

“Yes!” Monobear cried out. “You bastards are the first to let dear Monobear come to a social gathering! I promise I won't instigate any further murders! Upupu!”

“Is that all?” Ben said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Monobear replied. “See you bastards around.” But before he left, Monobear glanced at Chelsea's banner. “Hey! There's something missing!”

“What are you doing?!” Chelsea yelled as Monobear grabbed the thickest brush available.

“Making it pretty,” Monobear responded. Chelsea watched helplessly as Monobear began to paint in the corner. After a minute, a sloppily-painted Monobear face was underneath the text, which was encapsulated by a speech bubble.

“You've ruined it,” Chelsea said harshly.

“No I haven't!” Monobear said. “And this is now the official banner for the dance! It must be used! I'll make it a new rule!” Everyone's ElectroIDs suddenly bleeped. Chelsea looked at hers, rolling her eyes.

**New Rule: The banner Monobear so beautifully helped to create must be used for the dance.**

“You're kidding, right?” Nina said. “As in, this is a real rule that we must follow?”

“Of course it is!” Monobear fumed. “And if any of you bastards don't hang it up, I will execute someone!” He sighed. “I won't let you bastards stifle true art!”

“It's not art though!” Chelsea snapped. “It looks like a crude drawing that a five year old would be ashamed to create!”

“Eh, everyone's a critic in this modern day and age,” Monobear said. “Anyway, I'll see you bastards later! Enjoy the School Life of Mutual Killing for all it's worth! Upupu~” Monobear then suddenly left, leaving the students in the art studio alone.

“Oh my god,” Chelsea said. “Is this bear for real? I'm actually tempted to throw this banner in a furnace.”

“I wouldn't do that,” Ben reasoned. “It'll just provoke him further. Humour him on this; it's not like this banner is of a significant purpose, anyway.”

“You're right,” Chelsea sighed. “But he just pushes all my buttons in the wrong way.”

“Ignore him,” Nina offered. “He's only trying to get a rise out of us.”

“I suppose,” Chelsea said. “All right. I won't let him bother me any more.”

“That's the spirit,” Nina said with a smile. “Now, let's continue to prepare for this dance!”

“Um, Nina,” Ben said. “You and Carlos still haven't done anything. You could really learn from Charlie; she's completed two tablecloths during the time Monobear was here.”

“What?!” Carlos exclaimed. “No way!”

“It's true,” Charlie said. She cracked a timid smile. “Just look.”

“Haha, man we're useless...” Nina said. “In fact, we should probably let Charlie do all the work since she's the only competent one!”

“Not so fast,” Ben said. “You can get to decorating the cups and plates. It's not too hard: just follow the patterns on the tablecloths.”

“All right then,” Carlos said. “Let's go, Nina.”

“Argh! But Meta Knight and the—” Nina began. Carlos switched off the GameBoy.

“We're helping out,” he said.

“Hmph,” Nina huffed. “Fine.” The two of them walked over to the table which contained hundreds of white Styrofoam cups and plates. Carlos let out a nervous laugh.

“That sure is a lot, isn't it?” he said.

“It is,” Ben replied. “And if you begin now, you should be finished by Night Time.”

“What?!” Nina exclaimed. “But that's twelve hours from now!”

“Suck it up,” Ben said. “That just means you get more free time tomorrow.”

“Huh, I guess,” Nina said. “Come on, Carlos, let's get to it.”

Ben watched with a smile as Nina and Carlos began to work on the plates and cups. They were all on schedule to complete everything before Night Time, provided too many breaks weren't taken.

“You think they'll complete it all?” Chelsea said.

“I hope so,” Ben replied. They both smiled at each other, and Ben returned to his disco ball. The thought of murder did not exist within the art studio, and that was just how they all wanted it.

-

Melissa stood next to Shauna in the meeting hall, holding a stack of chairs. She grunted with the effort.

“Just place them on the stage,” Shauna said. “If we can't find a place to store them, we'll just keep the curtain shut so we don't see them.”

“Okay then,” Melissa said. She walked past Shauna, and up to the stage. John was also on-stage, moving a stack of chairs. Melissa placed her stack next to his.

“Tiring, huh?” he mused.

“Yeah,” Melissa said. “Please tell me you didn't need to psychoanalyse to come to that conclusion.” She offered a weary smile.

“No,” John replied warmly. “I'm tired as well.”

“I doubt it's possible to not be,” Melissa said. “But it'll be worth it in the end, won't it?”

“Should be,” John said. “And to psychoanalyse, I can tell you're looking forward to it.”

“Well yeah,” Melissa said. “I've never actually been to a dance before.”

“Have you not?” John said, startled.

“It's my first time,” Melissa said. “Which is kind of funny, considering how one of my novels revolves around a prom.”

“I guess so,” John replied. “To be honest, I always found dances to be a little bothersome. It's hard to enjoy yourself when you have desperate teens wanting to know if their crush feels the same way.”

“Sounds harsh,” Melissa said.

“It was amusing at times, though,” John said wistfully. “Although, it's not the best feeling in the world when you're crushing someone's dreams with the truth.”

“I can imagine,” Melissa said. “My peers always hated me, so I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing that I was still willing to go to events they participated in.”

“I can see why,” John said.

“Hey, you two,” Shauna said. “You can talk later: we need to get this hall ready for when the others begin to bring in everything!”

“I guess we've been speaking for too long,” Melissa said. “I'll talk to you later.”

“Yeah,” John said. The two walked off the stage on separate sides, picking up more chairs.

On the other side of the hall, Naomi and Andrew were sweeping up the floor with brooms Joel had found in a storage cupboard. Joel was currently taking down welcome posters from the walls.

“Whoo!” Naomi said, skating across the floor with her broom. “Andy, you should try skate-sweeping! It's like the best thing ever!”

“Maybe later,” Andrew said as he swept up a pile of dust into the corner. “I'm not really a skates kind of guy.”

“But you're a race-car driver!” Naomi exclaimed. “You'd love this!”

“Skating's nothing like being behind the wheel,” Andrew said. “That, and, I've kind of had a traumatic past with roller skates.”

“What do you mean?” Naomi said. “How can skates cause you trauma! They're nothing but goodness!”

“When I was ten or so,” Andrew said. “Yeah, I think it was ten... Anyway, I got this sweet pair of roller skates for my birthday. And being the eager speedster I've always been, I just had to try going down a hill.”

“And...?” Naomi said. She twirled on the spot, smiling.

“I kind of ran into a truck,” Andrew said. “I was hospitalised for over a month.”

“Whoa!” Naomi exclaimed. “Is this for real?!”

“Yep,” Andrew said. “Since then, I've never worn skates again.”

“Aww, how awful!” Naomi said. She stuck her tongue out. “Then again, if you hadn't have done that, then you could have maybe been the ETL Skater instead of me!”

“Maybe,” Andrew said. “But racing's always been my passion anyway.”

“That's a relief,” Naomi said. She then turned away from Andrew, and looked to Joel. “Hey, Joel! How are you doing?”

“I'm doing fine,” Joel said. He tore down another poster. “You?”

“I think we're nearly done here!” Naomi said. “Andy's swept up everything on his side of the hall!”

“And you?” Joel asked.

“Uh,” Naomi faltered. “I'm kinda nearly close to the end?”

“You've barely started, haven't you?” Joel said flatly.

“But I have a good reason!” Naomi said. “I was skate-sweeping!”

“Skate-sweeping?” Joel said.

“Yeah!” Naomi said. “It's where you skate around whilst sweeping up! But it's kinda hard to actually do any sweeping up...”

“Just as I thought,” Joel said. Another poster fell from the wall. Joel placed it in the pile. “I've just got this strip of wall to do, and then I'll help you out.”

“Woo-hoo!” Naomi cheered. She skated up to Joel, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks!”

“Uh, you're welcome,” Joel said, blushing. “That's an odd way to express gratitude, though.”

“Oh, that's not my gratitude,” Naomi said. “You're just so cute I couldn't resist!” She winked, and returned to sweeping.

“Don't worry,” Andrew said to Joel. “She does this to everyone. Think of it as a compliment.”

“Okay then,” Joel said. “I'll try not to put too much thought into it.”

“Good! Since that kind of stuff borders on upping the age rating!” Monobear sprung out of seemingly nowhere, glaring at Joel.

“Wah!” Joel cried out, stumbling backwards into the wall.

“What do you want now?” Andrew pressed, leaning on his broom.

“Just letting you know that your favourite bear is going to be the star of this dance!” Monobear said.

“That's not cool!” Naomi said. “I hereby decree this dance to be one hundred percent Monobear-free!”

“You can't do that!” Monobear taunted. “I'm the headmaster, and besides, the bastards in the art studio gave me the okay!”

Joel gave Monobear a withering look. “They were just trying to get rid of you,” he said.

“I don't care!” Monobear said. “And I think you're going to love the special Monobear decorations!”

“What have you done to the decorations?” Andrew asked.

“Don't worry! It's not like I've laced them with cyanide or something,” Monobear said.

“Why would you even think of that?!” Naomi said.

“One of you bastards is sure to kill,” Monobear said. “I'm just trying to give you friendly advice!”

“In what twisted world does lacing decorations count as friendly advice?!” Joel said incredulously.

“Upupu!” Monobear giggled. “You bastards haven't lived yet if you don't think that's friendly advice!”

At that point, Shauna walked over to the group, seeing the commotion.

“What's going on over here?” she said.

“Uwah!” Monobear cried out. “It's the creepy puppet girl!”

“How many times do I have to say it?” Shauna said. “Cammy is not some demon-spawn hell-bent on usurping you as headmaster! He's just a puppet!”

“That's what the last one said,” Monobear growled. “And I had to end up executing her along with ten of her remaining units! But at least that taught me a valuable lesson about adopting others as siblings!” He then leered at Cammy. “So don't get any ideas, you chuckle-monkey!”

“Cammy's incapable of making noise,” Shauna said. “You're being paranoid.”

“I don't know,” Monobear said, shrugging. “He seems awfully likely to commit a murder!”

“Oh my god,” Shauna said. She groaned. “He. Is. Not. Alive!”

“I'm just messing with you!” Monobear said. “After all, I wouldn't want to upset the lead party planner so much that she denies me entry!”

“I don't think I'm actually capable of stopping you from entering,” Shauna said. “You could just pop up anyway.”

“True,” Monobear said.

“Wait a sec,” Naomi added. She pulled out her ElectroID. “Did you make this new rule up?”

“Oh yeah,” Monobear said. “You bastards were so insistent on denying my beautifully crafted banner to be hung up in here!”

“Well yeah,” Shauna said. “I can imagine that this banner is anything but beautiful.”

“Bleh!” Monobear yelled. “Just remember that if it's not up there, the body count will rise rapidly!”

“You'd really kill someone over a banner?” Andrew asked in disbelief.

“Don't try me!” Monobear said. “I'll have you know I once blew up someone for insulting my colour scheme!”

“You can't be serious!” Naomi cried out.

“I am,” Monobear said.

“We're derailing here,” Shauna said. “And if you keep us talking for too long, then we won't have this place ready by tomorrow.”

“Oh no!” Monobear said. “That simply cannot happen! If this dance doesn't go on, it'll be so despair-inducing that I just might faint!” Monobear placed a paw to his forehead as if to exaggerate.

“Exactly,” Shauna said. “So if you could leave us alone, we'll get done much quicker.”

“Okay, I'm off,” Monobear said. “See you bastards later. Or sooner, if a murder takes place. Upupu~” He then vanished from sight, off to who knew where.

“Man,” Joel said. “That bear is a real piece of work, huh?”

“Tell me about it,” Shauna said. “I just hope he doesn't ruin this dance.”

“I don't think he will,” Andrew said. “It provides too perfect a scenario for a murder motive.”

“Don't talk like that!” Naomi said. “You'll just bring bad luck!”

“I wouldn't worry,” Andrew replied. “None of us are stupid enough to actually commit a murder.”

“Yeah,” Shauna added confidently. “And as long as I'm here, nobody will die!”

“That's a little over-confident, isn't it?” Joel said.

“Not really,” Shauna said with a smile. “There are only sixteen of us, and if we're all at this dance, then nobody can commit a murder without being caught.” She smiled. “That, and, I'm pretty sure we're all good people who wouldn't dream of killing.”

“Hopefully,” Andrew said.

At this point in time, the doors to the hall opened, revealing Ella, who was holding a USB drive.

“Ella!” Shauna said. “How's the playlist going?”

“Done,” Ella said with a smile. “Now it's just a matter of rigging up the speaker system.”

“That's great!” Shauna said.

“I think I saw some speakers upstairs,” Ella said. “Could you possibly come and help me to look?”

“Of course!” Shauna said. “Do you need anyone else to help carry them?”  
“That will be unnecessary,” Ella said. “I wouldn't want to hinder the progress here. Besides, we could easily just pick them up tomorrow.”

“All right then,” Shauna said. “I'll help you look.” She smiled at the others around her. “I'll see you all later!” They watched as Shauna and Ella walked out of the hall. The doors slammed shut loudly.

“Okay then,” Joel said. “I think I'm done with the posters.” He motioned to the now bare wall.

“Wha?” Naomi said. “You were working whilst we were talking?!”

“Yeah,” he said. “Is that a problem?”

“Not really...” Naomi said.

“Besides,” Joel continued. “That means I can now help you with the sweeping!”

“Hell yeah!” Naomi said. “Broom buddies!”

Joel chuckled. “That's the spirit.” He grabbed a spare broom from the corner of the room, and walked up to Naomi, beginning to sweep.

Andrew watched this with a smile. Everything was going perfectly, and despite Monobear's threats, everyone was still in a good mood.

This dance was going to be perfect.

-

Wyatt was sitting at the desk in his room, working away at his sewing machine, when the door knocked.

“I'll be one second,” he shouted, returning to the sewing machine. He soon finished the stitch, and stood up, stretching and adjusting his glasses. He quickly walked over to his door, and opened it up. Marian was standing on the other side, holding a pile of fabric. It was stacked high enough that it nearly towered over her face.

“I found some more fabric,” she said. “You think this'll be enough?”

Wyatt laughed. “Should be.” He then reached his arms out. “Here. I'll take half of the pile.”

“Thanks,” Marian said. Wyatt reached up to the top of the pile, and took roughly half of it. Immediately he was surprised by the weight of it, but still smiled.

“Just put it on my bed,” he said as he walked across the room.

“Okay,” Marian replied. Wyatt placed his fabric down first. She followed suit. “So, how are the outfits going?”

“I'd say they're going quite well,” Wyatt said. “I've finished all the base outfit shapes, and now I just have to individualise them all.”

“Awesome,” Marian said. “And you have all the right measurements?”

“Yes,” Wyatt said. “I can tell someone's measurements from just a passing glance.”

“Really?” Marian said. “That's impressive.”

“Says the girl who can convince any judge of a person's innocence or guilt,” Wyatt countered wryly.

“That's not particularly exciting, though,” Marian said. “There are more talented lawyers than there are fashion designers.”

“Hey now,” Wyatt said. “Need I remind you that you were single-handedly responsible for convicting Sunshine Sally?”

“I suppose,” Marian said. “Sorry. It's just that I'm so used to my talent it feels kind of useless.”

“Never say that,” Wyatt said. He gave her a warm grin.

“Anyway,” Marian said. “Can I get some spoilers for our outfits?”

“Nu-uh,” Wyatt said, winking. “You'll have to wait and see.”

“Aw, come on!” Marian said. “Not even a peek?”

“My lips are sealed,” Wyatt said. Marian began to laugh at that. It was that contagious type of laugh, and Wyatt joined in. However, the sound of the door knocking was still louder than the camaraderie.

“Who could that be?” Marian said.

“Not sure,” Wyatt replied. He stood up. “I'll go check.”

“Stop right there,” Marian said. “You get back to making our stunning outfits; I'll deal with the door.”

“If you say so,” Wyatt said.

Marian walked over to the door, opening it.

“Hello?” she said, seeing Mark standing there. “Oh, hey Mark.”

“Hey Marian,” Mark said. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping Wyatt out,” she said. “You?”

“Shauna directed me here,” he explained. “She told me that the art studio and meeting hall already have enough people, and that Wyatt might need some help.”

“I suppose,” she said. “Come in. We'll see if there's something for you to do.”

“Thanks,” Mark said, walking through into Wyatt's room. Marian closed the door behind him.

“Oh, hello Mark,” Wyatt said, sorting through the piles of fabric.

“Hi,” Mark said. “I came here to see if you need any help. Shauna sent me.”

“Did she?” Wyatt said. “Well, I'm pretty efficient on my own, but if you want to help out with things like going on expeditions to find accessories for the outfits, be my guest.”

“I'm fine with that,” Mark replied. “I did want to help out.”

“Not to mention it cuts my work load in half,” Marian said.

“Haha, that too,” Mark added, smiling. “Hey, Wyatt, how are the outfits coming along anyway?”

“The base outfits are done,” Wyatt explained. “It's just a case of personalising now.”

“Cool,” Mark said.

“And before you ask, you can't see them yet,” Wyatt said. “You'll have to wait until they're done.”

“Oh well,” Mark said with a shrug. “So, anything you need right now?”

“Not really,” Wyatt said. “But I tend to get absorbed in my work, so you could probably keep Marian company for a while.”

“All right then,” Mark said as Wyatt returned to the sewing machine with a pile of blue and green fabric.

“And he's off,” Marian said, motioning to Wyatt as he so carefully operated the machine. “You'll be lucky to see him surface before dinner.”

“Oh yeah!” Mark said. He lifted a hand up, revealing a bag. “I got some dinner on the way here.”

“It's already that time?” Marian said.

“Yeah,” Mark replied. He set it down on Wyatt's empty bedside desk. “What do you want?”

“What do you have?” Marian asked.

“It's essentially the same menu as yesterday,” Mark said. “Except no lasagne. I caught Monobear eating from it and I wasn't going to risk contamination.”

“Smart,” Marian said. “In that case, just pass me a veggie burger.”

“Vegetarian?” Mark asked.

“Yeah,” Marian replied. “Not that it really matters.”

“Okay then,” Mark said. He reached into the bag, pulling out the sealed food item. Marian took it from him, and began to eat.

“Oh, this is good,” she said between mouthfuls. Mark grabbed a hot dog, eating it. It was still warm, he noticed.

“I know,” Mark said. “Hey, who do you think makes this stuff?”

“It can't be Monobear,” Marian said. “I don't think he's physically capable of cooking.”

“Maybe it's whoever is operating Monobear?” Mark said.

“Could be,” Marian said. “But why would they do all this?”

“Perhaps so that there's no risk of us starving,” Mark replied. “After all, to mimic Monobear, 'it would be despair-inducingly boring to watch you bastards starve!'”

Marian chuckled. “That's pretty accurate.”

“And the truth!” Without warning, Monobear appeared in the room. “I would hate for you bastards to be hungry! Just knowing that one of you could be your killer is despair enough!”

“You again,” Mark said.

“Why are you here?” Marian asked.

“Isn't it obvious?” Monobear said. “To see how your dance preparations are going!”

“So much for secrecy,” Marian muttered as she finished her food.

“I have this entire school under heavy surveillance!” Monobear said. “You can't hide anything from me!”

“Okay then,” Marian said. “But what do you want from us in particular?”

“I want to see how the beautiful outfits are coming along!” Monobear said.

“Good luck with that,” Marian said. “Wyatt's liable to impale you with a sewing needle if you peek.”

“Upupu!” Monobear said. “No he isn't! If he even raises a hand to me, he'll be executed faster than a rabbit would dissolve in a vat of acid!”

“That's repulsive...” Mark said.

“To each their own,” Monobear huffed before moving across the room. “Hey! Fashion Designer! Let me see my dance outfit!”

“Your what?” Wyatt said, facing Monobear.

“I can't go to the dance without an outfit,” Monobear said. “So where is mine?”

“I haven't made you one,” Wyatt said simply.

“What?! Outrageous!” Monobear snapped. “I'm your headmaster! It's only common courtesy that you make me an outfit!”

“Oh my god,” Wyatt said. “Will you just shut up?”

“Not until I have my outfit!” Monobear said. “And in fact, just to ensure this, it'll be a new rule!” For the second time today, everyone's ElectroIDs bleeped. Marian opened hers up, seeing the update.

**New rule: The ETL Fashion Designer must make Monobear a beautiful outfit for the dance**

“Oh my god,” Marian said. “This is getting ridiculous, is it not?”

“It's the only way I can get you bastards to pay attention to me!” Monobear said. He then looked at Wyatt. “And if I don't get my outfit, we'll be having a public beheading instead!”

“What?!” Wyatt exclaimed. “That's far too extreme for such a petty matter!”

“Then to avoid this, just make my outfit already!” Monobear fumed.

“Okay, okay!” Wyatt groaned. “Just give me a sec.”

“Make sure it really shows off my personality as well!” Monobear said. “And I only want to see black and white used! No other colour!”

“Got it,” Wyatt said, rolling his eyes. “Marian, could you pass me the white fabric?”

“Okay,” Marian said. She picked up a sheet of white fabric, and handed it to Wyatt.

“Thank you,” Wyatt said. He then began to feed the black and white fabric into the sewing machine.

“Stop! Stop!” Monobear cried out. “The shade's all wrong!”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Wyatt snapped. “I didn't know you were also the ETL Fashion Designer.”

“I don't appreciate your sharp tongue,” Monobear growled. “Start over.”

“No,” Wyatt said. “It's this or nothing. And before you execute me, think: who else is capable of producing an outfit for you?” He sneered at Monobear. “Well?”

“Fine,” Monobear huffed. “I suppose it will do. But this is the last time any of you bastards gain the upper hand on me!” He glared at Wyatt once more, before vanishing from the room.

“You know,” Wyatt said as he continued working at the fabric. “If I didn't know better, I could swear Monobear's trying deliberately to make himself end up being the victim.”

“I'm not sure there,” Marian said. “Especially not for the first case; he'll definitely want it to be contained within the ETLs.”

“Well, he's gonna be disappointed,” Wyatt said. He grabbed a pair of scissors, and began to cut at the black fabric. “Nobody is going to be committing a murder any time soon.”

“Hopefully not ever,” Mark added. “He'll eventually give up on us after a while, and then there wouldn't be a reason to murder.”

“And the authorities will come to our rescue anyway,” Marian said. “I'd give it maybe two months tops before we're out of here.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “I think we can hold out until then.”

“Won't it be hilarious seeing Monobear get taken down?” Wyatt said with a chuckle.

“Definitely,” Marian said. She looked over at the bag. “Hungry?”

“Not really,” Wyatt said. “I might grab a bite to eat once I'm done with Monobear's appalling outfit.”

“Okay then,” Marian said. “Don't spend too long on it though: it's essentially no different to making an outfit for Shauna's puppet.”

“Don't say that,” Mark said. “You might bring him back.”

“I doubt it,” Marian said. “The little creep probably has business elsewhere.”

“Yeah,” Mark said.

The conversation then died down for a while, and Mark and Marian sat on the bed whilst Wyatt slaved away over on his desk. He quickly finished Monobear's outfit, but like the others, refused to show it. At one point, Mark pulled his camera out, and filmed Wyatt making the outfit, talking over it.

“Still filming?” Marian asked wryly once Mark finished with the camera.

“Yeah,” he said. “I'll be putting the first episode together after the dance.”

“You're going to be filming the dance?” Marian said.

“Of course,” Mark said. “It's no beach party, but it'll do.”

“I suppose,” Marian said. “Just don't glorify it.”

“I'm not,” Mark said. “I'm just presenting the reality. And the current reality is that we're all banding together to fight Monobear's School Life of Mutual Killing.”

“It is,” Marian said. “Can't fault you there.” Mark went to reply, but was cut off by a sound ringing out.

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards. It is ten pm, meaning that it is now Night Time. The cafeteria has been locked, and the hallway lights have been turned off. Pleasant dreams!”_

An uneasy atmosphere soon descended. Mark, Marian, and Wyatt all looked at each other, their eyes wide.

“Well,” Marian said. “I guess we should all head to our rooms for the evening, then.”

“I suppose,” Mark said. “We don't want to be too tired for the dance, do we?”

Wyatt was the one who spoke their thoughts. “Do you think there's gonna be a murder?”

“I don't know,” Marian replied, uneasy. “I hope not.”

“There probably won't be,” Mark said. “It's just tiredness and fear talking here.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “That's all.”

“Are you going to bed now?” Mark asked Wyatt.

“No,” he said. “I naturally fall asleep at midnight, which gives me two more hours to finish a couple of outfits.”

“I guess,” Mark said. “In that case, goodnight.” He began to walk towards the door.

“Yeah,” Marian said, following Mark. “See you in the morning.”

Wyatt smiled. “I'll try and get your outfits done before then.”

“You'd better hold to that promise,” Marian said. She and Mark then opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway, heading towards their dorm rooms. Wyatt returned to working on the outfits.

The other ETLs soon returned to bed as well. All sixteen dreamed peacefully, but in their minds, one clear thought stuck out: one of them could be planning a murder, and they could be the victim.


	6. Last-Minute Set-Up

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! It is now seven am, marking the end of Night Time. The cafeteria has been unlocked, and the lights turned on. Here's to another day of mutual killing! Upupu~”_

Carlos opened his eyes as Monobear finished the morning announcement. The start of a new day. The third day in Sun's Joy Academy. The second day of the School Life of Mutual Killing. Had it only been that long? Already his old life felt a million miles away. But he soon realised this train of thought was only going to depress him further, so he got out of bed, and showered and dressed for the day.

After dressing, Carlos stood in the middle of his room for a moment, gazing at the sealed window which had been letting in sunlight only yesterday. Maybe he would never see the sun again. His gaze then rested upon his laptop, which was sitting on his desk, switched off. Without the internet, there was no real point to it. Still, just having it out gave him a sense of comfort. Sighing, Carlos walked out of his room, and down the hallway.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria was considerably gloomier than it had been yesterday, despite the excitement of the dance. It was akin to a sunny day suddenly turning overcast. After grabbing a plate of pancakes, Carlos sat down with Nina and Ben.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning,” Nina replied happily. “How are you?”

“I've seen better days,” Carlos said. “Not having the sun kind of makes it feel as if I haven't slept properly.”

“I know what you mean,” Ben said. “The lighting in here's not the greatest anyway, so it's not even as if I can paint to relieve the stress.”

“I didn't hear you complain yesterday after finishing those decorations,” Nina said with a grin.

“That's different,” Ben said. “When it's my personal art projects, everything has to be perfect.”

“So you're saying that your friends aren't good enough for perfection?” Nina taunted.

“No,” Ben explained. “It's because Monobear had an input in the project that makes it unworthy.”

“Don't say his name,” Carlos groaned. “It's too early to be dealing with him.”

“All right, sorry,” Ben said. “But besides that, I'm looking forward to the dance tonight.”

“Me too,” Nina said. “It'll definitely create a brighter atmosphere though; everyone's been really down since Monobear took over.”

“It's understandable,” Carlos said. “He's telling us to kill each other. Kind of hard to keep your spirits up in that kind of situation.”

“I guess,” Nina said. “But that's why this dance is so important! We'll all forget about our worries for sure!”

“Even one night off from this all would be a god-send,” Ben said. “This dance couldn't have come at a better time.”

“I have to agree there,” Carlos said. “But I can't help but be pessimistic; what if someone is planning on committing a murder during the dance?”

“That is a very real possibility,” Nina said. “However, I doubt the probability.”

“Why?” Ben asked.

“Because we'll all be there,” Nina said. “It'll be really hard to get away with killing someone in the middle of a dance.”

“Some serial killers have done it in the past,” Ben said.

“But nobody here's the ETL Murderer,” Nina countered. “Everybody here's a novice when it comes to killing; there's no way they'd risk it.”

“If you say so,” Ben said.

“But anyway, let's stop thinking about murder,” Carlos said. “From what you've seen, which part of the dance are you looking forward to the most?”

“Definitely our outfits,” Nina said with a smile. “From what I've heard, Wyatt's really outdone himself.”

“I've not seen much,” Carlos admitted. “However, they seem to have done a brilliant job in clearing out the hall.”

“Don't forget the decorations,” Ben said.

“Oh yeah,” Nina said. “How are they?”

“You wouldn't know, would you?” Ben said, glaring at Nina.

“Hey!” she said. “I was busy with my game!”

“I ended up doing the rest of the work,” Carlos said.

“Anyway,” Ben said. “Besides the banner, it's all great.”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “Making it a rule was the dumbest move possible.”

“It's almost grotesque in a way,” Carlos said. “As if it's his reminder that he's still in control despite the dance.”

“Let's not get philosophical here,” Nina said. “I wonder about the food, though.”

“Apparently Shauna's a great cook,” Ben explained. “She's going to be preparing the food throughout the day.”

“I can't wait to taste it,” Nina said. “Do you think she'll mind if I sneak into the kitchen and take some?”

“Can't you just wait like the rest of us?” Carlos said.

Nina laughed. “Nope!” she said.

“But we haven't even finished breakfast,” Ben said.

“I know!” Nina said. “But you can't beat party food.”

“True,” Carlos added.

“See?” Nina said. “My blogger buddy agrees with me!” She wrapped an arm around Carlos, grinning widely.

“Could you let go of me?” Carlos said. “You're choking me a little.”

“Sorry!” Nina said.

“Just remember we still have to move all the stuff to the hall today,” Ben said. “So there's more to today than just food, Nina.”

“How much do we have to move?” Nina asked.

“Let's see...” Ben said, counting in his head. “Two hundred plates, two hundred and fifty cups, eighteen tablecloths, a disco ball, forty streamers, and the god awful banner.”

“What?!” Nina said. “That's a ridiculous amount!”

“You do remember there are only sixteen of us, right?” Carlos said.

“I know that,” Ben said. “But I also know what you two are like; it's in case you drop anything, ruining it.”

“Don't doubt me,” Nina said, winking. “The only thing I'll be dropping is the banner.”

“Don't,” Carlos warned. “Monobear might end up killing you.”

“I don't know,” Nina said. “He seems like he's bluffing.”

“I wouldn't push it though,” Ben said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “We want to keep the mood positive.”

“And positive it shall be!” Nina exclaimed. “I will try my hardest to ensure that this dance will be the best night of our lives.”

-

On the other side of the hall, Melissa, Shauna, Mark, and Charlie sat around another table, eating.

“So guys,” Mark said. “Looking forward to the dance tonight?”

“I can't even begin to describe my anticipation for this evening,” Shauna said brightly. Cammy was laying on the desk in front of her.

“Well, you're the one behind it,” Melissa said. “I can imagine that you want it to go perfectly.”

“And then some,” Shauna said. “I have so many concerns about tonight. What if nobody shows up? What if Monobear ruins it? What if a murder happens?”

“None of that will happen,” Mark said. “Trust me. The others have worked too hard to not show. The only one I'm concerned about is Dirk.”

“Why Dirk?” Melissa asked.

“Because of what he told me yesterday,” he said.

“What was it?” Shauna asked, eyes wide.

“He's planning on leaving the dance early,” Mark explained. “Whilst everyone's distracted he's going to try and hack the network.”

“Can he do that?” Charlie said.

“He shouldn't do it tonight,” Shauna said. “He can't miss the dance.”

“I don't think we can stop him if he's dead set on it,” Melissa said. “All we can do is try and persuade him otherwise.”

“I think we've found our mission for today,” Shauna said. “Oh, wait. I've got to help Ella move the speaker system into the meeting hall today, so it's up to you, Melissa.”

Melissa smiled. “I'll speak to him.”

“And he can't miss it,” Mark said. “I need him to be part of the documentary. He can't do that if he's on the other side of the building, can he?”

“Exactly,” Shauna said.

“Um, I don't want to cause alarm or anything,” Charlie said. “But I just thought: what if Dirk is planning a murder?”

“What?!” Mark exclaimed. “Dirk? Kill? Impossible!”

“Not really,” Melissa said to him. “Stress does crazy things to people.”

“But we're better than that,” Mark said. He grabbed Melissa's hands, and stared her in the face. “For crying out loud, we're the ETLs!”

“Okay!” Melissa said, pulling out of his grip. “I'm just saying that we should be expecting the worst.”

“Yeah,” Shauna said. She smirked. “You know, one time at a toy show of mine, some kid ended up hospitalising her younger brother by stabbing him with a chip of wood from a puppet. Nobody expected that to happen. Perhaps something unexpected will happen at this dance, but not what we think.”

“Whoa,” Mark said. “That really happened?”  
“It truly did,” Shauna said with a smile.

“Nothing like that's ever happened to me,” Charlie said. “Unless you count the time I entered my garden into a competition and the judge was actually allergic to the pollen.”

“Seriously?” Melissa said. “There was a garden judge allergic to pollen?”

“It's a little ridiculous, I know,” Charlie said with a smile. “Just so you know, I still won first prize.”

“As it should be!” Shauna exclaimed. “You're the ETL Gardener: of course you deserve first place!”

“I know,” Charlie said. “This was before I earned the title, though.”

“You're wrong there,” Mark said with a smile. “I can guarantee from the moment you touched a flower you were destined to be the best gardener out there?”

“You really think so?” Charlie said, blushing. “That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me...”

“Get used to the compliments,” Mark said. “There's an abundance for them just for you.”

“Don't forget about the rest of us,” Shauna reminded him. “We're all deserving of compliments.”

“True, true,” Mark said. “There's a reason we're all in an Enhanced Talent Academy.”

“Wait a minute,” Melissa said. “Do you think other Enhanced Talent Academies are having the same problem as us?”

“You mean a demonic bear imprisoning us and forcing us to kill?” Shauna said. “It's unlikely, but who knows?”

“What if this is actually all a complicated initiation ceremony?” Mark said. “I mean, we are supposedly carrying the hopes of the future, right? Would it really be that much of a stretch of the imagination to assume that by showing us ultimate despair, our hope will shine brighter?”

“Maybe,” Melissa said. “But speculation will get us nowhere. And if we look into it too much, we'll dampen the mood.”

“Yeah,” Shauna said. “We can't do that. This dance is not going to be ruined by the School Life of Mutual Killing. I'll make sure of it.”

-

Dirk had chosen a table in the corner of the room once again, but his efforts of being left alone had been thwarted by Chelsea and Naomi, who had decided to sit with him. Chelsea was drinking a cup of coffee, whilst Naomi was wolfing down a plate of pancakes.

“Slow down there,” Chelsea said. “We've still got some stuff to do today. And you'll overeat and not enjoy the dance as much.”

“I thought we went through this yesterday,” Naomi said. “I can eat hella amounts of food before it affects me.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry for forgetting,” Chelsea said dryly. “It wasn't as if I had anything else on my mind like worrying about murder.”

“Haha, I forgot all about that!” Naomi said.

“If only we all could,” Dirk said, still looking at his PDA. Yet again he had had zero luck in accessing the network. Then again, he hadn't had much time besides first thing in the morning and during Night Time. And due to this dance and the preparation that came with it, he'd been too tired to do much at all. But tonight would be the perfect opportunity: everyone, including the freak of nature that was Monobear, would be at the dance. Nobody would even notice him leave.

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “Wouldn't that be bliss?”

“Not really,” Naomi said. “I mean, we'd still be trapped in this school only we'd have no idea why!”

“True,” Dirk said. “But at least we wouldn't be killing each other.”

“And then there's Monobear to consider as well,” Chelsea said. “He'd remind us immediately.”

“Yeah,” Naomi said. “Maybe it's not such a good idea after all!”

“I agree,” Chelsea said. “Anyway, are you guys looking forward to the dance?”

“A little,” Dirk said.

“More like a ton!” Naomi said. “I love dances! Did you know I was very nearly crowned prom queen in high school?”

“Really?” Chelsea said.

“Yeah!” Naomi said. “But then I knocked out the head cheerleader and was kicked out.”

“How did you manage that?” Chelsea questioned.

“I wore my skates,” Naomi said. “And she got in the way. The rest is something I advise we don't talk about.”

“Please tell me you didn't kill her,” Dirk said.

“Nope!” Naomi exclaimed. “She woke up five minutes later and stole my crown!” She sighed. “Not that it mattered because then I was accepted here!”

“I suppose that's one upside,” Chelsea said.

“That's why I'm going to make the most of this dance!” Naomi said. “To make up for the prom that never was!”

“I suppose that's a good reason to be looking forward to it,” Chelsea commented. “But yeah. This'll be a good way for us all to get closer, and a big F-you to Monobear for doing this to us; with this dance, I'm certain there won't be any murdering happening.”

“Definitely!” Naomi added.

“I wouldn't go as far as saying this is the ultimate way of rebelling against Monobear,” Dirk said. “I mean, the creep's practically gotten his grubby little paws all over this dance.” He lifted up his PDA. “Just look at the rules for further evidence: he's making us hang some banner, and Wyatt's gotta design an outfit for him. He's still pulling the strings at the end of the day.”

“I guess,” Chelsea said. “But still, to come up with a dance instead of murder is still going against him.”

“Can't fault you there,” Dirk said.

“Nope,” Naomi said. “And anyway, we'll still have an awesome time regardless of Monobear!”

“I hope so,” Chelsea said. “He probably won't try anything, but still...”

“What are you thinking?” Dirk asked, looking at Chelsea.

“It's just that he might release a new motive at the dance,” Chelsea explained. “You know, like 'if you bastards want to leave the dance, kill someone!': it's likely he'd pull something like this.”

“Not really,” Dirk said. “The dance itself is a prime opportunity to kill; why complicate?”

“You know, you sound really cold when you say this,” Chelsea said. “Why do you even think like that?”

“Better to understand your opponent than to be ignorant,” Dirk said. “It's a skill I learned from hacking: sometimes, the password can come down to a matter of understanding the person; you put yourself in their shoes for just a moment, and blam. There's the secret password; usually it's something personal. And I'm applying the same thing to Monobear: figure him out, and we're out of here.”

“Whoa,” Naomi said. “That's all kinds of intelligent!”

“I have to agree with her there,” Chelsea said. “You're brilliant!”

“Not really,” Dirk said. “I just honed my skills in a different way is all.”

“Well, they're the most useful skills right now,” Chelsea said. “I firmly believe that you might actually be able to get us all out.”

“It's an almost inevitable conclusion that that's what I'll do,” Dirk said. “I swear on my own life that we'll get out of here.”

“Let's just hope you hold to that promise,” Chelsea said. “I don't know if we'll all last in this place for too long...”

“Anyway, enough of the miserable mood,” Naomi said. “We have a dance to look forward to!”

-

On the table adjacent to them, Marian, Joel, and John sat, talking. Marian was sipping from a cup of coffee, whilst Joel ate an orange. John did not eat anything.

“So the dance is tonight,” Joel said. “You guys excited?”

“Kind of,” Marian said. “I'm not big on the social scene, though.”

“That makes two of us,” John added. “Although, you probably guessed that from how I was during the whole Sunshine Sally fiasco.”

“To be fair, having an afterparty just for convicting a serial killer is in bad taste,” Marian said. “I left the moment they brought out the booze.”

“Whoa,” Joel said. “Seriously? They seriously got drunk for catching a killer?”

“Yeah, shocker,” Marian said. “The law enforcement team isn't the elite group they present themselves as.”

“Well, that's a reality check,” Joel said.

“I saw it all coming from a mile away, of course,” John said. He rolled his eyes. “Good thing you left early, Marian: if you knew of that young detective's intentions, you wouldn't have shown at all.”

“Spare me the detail,” Marian said. “That's a thing I'd like to be buried in the past.”

“It's not as bad as this one time,” Joel said. “It was a year or so ago. Basically, these girls came to the local pool, high as anything, thinking I wouldn't catch on.”

“And did you?” Marian asked.

“Of course,” Joel said. “When the place suddenly reeks to high hell of weed, you can guess.”

“And how do you know that particular scent?” John said.

“This is sounding awfully like an interrogation,” Joel said sheepishly. “And for that, I have a cousin with particular tastes.”

“I see,” John said. “Thanks for clarifying.”

“Besides,” Joel said. “If I was that acquitted with that smell, I'd be here as the ETL Stoner, not Lifeguard.”

Marian laughed. “True,” she said. “But anyhow, returning to the story.”

“Oh yeah,” Joel said. “One of them then faked drowning just to get me in the water; they wanted to admire my hot body.” He groaned. “Man was it embarrassing.”

“It's unusual, I'll give you that,” John said. “I, unfortunately, lack embarrassing memories, but rest assured, I can feel your embarrassment to such a degree I'm thankful for the lack of experiences.”

“Lucky,” Marian said. “Although, nothing beats my prom night.”

“Do tell,” John said.

“Fine,” Marian said. “Essentially, I was there as some kind of police on the others. I was to suss out when they were lying about anything; my investigative fieldwork certainly didn't help in relinquishing the position there.”

“Yikes,” John said. “Good thing I was home schooled then.”

“Were you?” Joel asked.

“Yes,” John said. “It was better than interacting with the masses; knowing everyone so intimately was kind of annoying, you know?”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Joel said. “Luckily my ETL's fairly average, so I never had that issue.”

“I don't think anyone else is capable of having that issue,” Marian added. “And could I get back to my delightful prom anecdote?”

“Oh, sorry!” John said. “Do continue.”

“Thank you,” Marian said. “Anyway, as I was saying, I was there to keep a leash on the other students. You know, like standing at the front gates, and checking for stuff like smuggled booze and finding lost items.” Marian then trailed off as a wistful grin blossomed on her face.

“And?” John asked.

“And,” Marian continued, “it was all going fine, up until someone – her name's slipped my mind, sorry – ran past me into the dance hall. Naturally, I followed her, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Until around half an hour later, when chaos descended over the prom.”

“What happened?” Joel asked.

“She'd spiked all the drinks,” Marian said. “Anybody that drank anything other than tap water was completely inebriated before they knew what was happening.”

A surprised look crossed John's face. “Are you serious?” he said.

“Entirely,” Marian replied. “We had to cut the prom short, and just shy of two hundred hammered teens were let loose on the town.” She rolled her eyes. “And of course all the blame fell to me for not stopping this girl.”

“Man,” Joel said. “Harsh.”

“Yes,” Marian said. “But still, I should have thought to check more thoroughly.”

“Nothing you can do about it now,” John said. “At least it makes for a funny anecdote, though.”

“I suppose,” Marian said. A wistful smile crossed her face. “And at least this dance will be more civilised; I fail to see ETL students sinking to that level myself.”

-

Across from them, Ella and Andrew sat together, two empty plates on the table.

“Ella,” Andrew said. “Looking forward to the dance?”

“Most definitely,” she said. “It should be a night to remember for all of us.”

“That it should be,” Andrew said. He smiled. Ella's face suddenly changed expression. “You all right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ella said, looking to Andrew reassuringly. “I was just wondering: what if Monobear does something?”

“I doubt he'll be able to really jeopardise the dance too much,” Andrew said. “We've already pretty much guessed that it looks too much like a perfect murder opportunity, and why would he want to mess with that?”

“Yeah,” Ella said. “However, nobody here's foolish enough to actually go through with murder.”

“True,” Andrew said. “Tonight'll just be one big ball of fun.”

“Hopefully,” Ella said. “I can at least tell you that the music is going to be brilliant.”

“Really?” Andrew said. “What music did you pick?”

“I kind of used Dirk's help there,” Ella explained. “I know it's bad of us, but we hacked into everyone's music players and selected their most played songs, and compiled it into one playlist.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out a grey USB drive. “It's all on here. The only thing left to do is hook it up to the speaker system, which I'll be transporting to the hall today.”

“Cool,” Andrew said. “Gonna give anything away?”

“You should already know your favourite songs,” Ella said knowingly. “And for the others? Just wait and see.”

“I just hope everyone's got a semi-decent music taste then,” Andrew said.

“Oh, trust me,” Ella said. She winked at Andrew. “They do.”

Their conversation was suddenly cut short by the sound of someone running across the cafeteria floor. The two ETLs looked over to see Wyatt bursting through the doors, panting heavily, face slick with sweat.

“Hey, Wyatt,” Andrew said as Wyatt approached their table. “Are you okay?”

“I...” Wyatt said, but faltered. He sat down at the table, trembling.

“Wyatt, what is it?” Ella asked, her face flushing with concern.

“It's...” Wyatt spluttered. “I can't...”

“Please tell me no,” Andrew said.

“What do you think?” Ella said, looking over at Andrew.

“I think Wyatt's seen a body,” Andrew said. The atmosphere suddenly chilled as Ella's face turned white as a sheet.

“Surely you can't be serious!” she exclaimed. “But everyone's here! Aren't they?”

Wyatt suddenly held up a hand. He shook his head lightly. “Not... not that...” he panted. “Nobody's dead...”

Both Andrew and Ella breathed visible sighs of relief. “Thank God,” Ella said. “So what is it?”

Wyatt took a deep breath. “Sorry for the panic,” he said. “It's just that I overslept and panicked when I saw the time: I didn't want to worry you all into thinking I had been murdered.”

“Oh,” Andrew said. He let out a chuckle. “That's it?”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said, wiping the sweat from his face. “I didn't mean to scare you like that.”

“Scare?” Ella said. “Wyatt, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry again,” Wyatt said sheepishly.

“It's fine,” she reassured. “But how come you overslept?”

“I foolishly stayed up till three adding the finishing touches to our outfits,” Wyatt said. “I got so caught up in personalising everyone's outfits I didn't realise how late it had been. And of course, naturally, I practically passed out once finished.” He let an awkward grin cross his face. “It's just that I couldn't sleep until everything was perfect: it's my Achilles' Heel, so to speak.”

“I suppose there are worse weaknesses to have,” Ella said. She then winked at Wyatt. “And I suppose we won't be getting any pre-dance spoilers for our outfits?”

“My lips are still sealed on that front,” Wyatt said. “Besides, you only have a few hours to wait; surely even that's within the realms of your patience.”

“I suppose so,” Ella sighed. “It's just that I'm curious.”

“As am I,” Andrew said. “But won't it make it even better to find out later?”

“Exactly,” Wyatt added. “So, please, wait just a little longer.”

“Fine,” Ella said. “But you'd better not dash my hopes; I have high expectations, you know.”

“I know,” Wyatt said. “I know.” He smiled at Ella, who was about to reply when Shauna stood up, looking over the cafeteria.

“Could I please have everyone's attention?” she said. Silence soon fell over the cafeteria as every eye was on her. “Thank you. Now, I think it's time to begin to put things together for this dance!”

“All right!” Naomi exclaimed, grinning widely. “This is going to be rad as hell!”

“Hopefully,” Shauna said. “So here's the plan for today: everyone's going to bring the stuff they prepared for the dance to the meeting hall, except for Wyatt's outfits.” She winked at Wyatt. “That'll come later tonight when we're getting ready.”

“But what about those that didn't really help with anything in particular?” Mark asked. “I sort of just wandered around, filming.”

“In that case, I'd advise either seeing Ben's group about helping with the supplies, or helping to do any last-minute adjustments to the hall,” Shauna said.

“What about Ella's speaker system?” Dirk asked idly, fiddling with an ear bud. “I could always help out with getting that over.”

“Don't worry about that, Dirk,” Shauna said. “The two of us have it covered.”

“If you say so,” Dirk said. “I guess I'll just wander around for a while then.”

“Just try and do something productive before the dance, though,” Shauna said, rolling her eyes. Cammy's head drooped, which she quickly corrected.

“What about Monobear?” Chelsea asked. “What if he tries to get in our way or something?”

“Try and ignore him as best as possible,” Shauna offered. “But don't challenge him; we don't want to get on his bad side at all.”

“All right then,” Chelsea said.

“Any more questions?” Shauna said.

“Yeah, just one,” Nina said. “What time are you thinking of actually having this dance start at?”

“Half eight,” Shauna said. “Until around midnight, if that's okay with everyone.”

“Two and a half hours?” Naomi said. “La-ame! I've been to way cooler parties that went on until sunrise!”

“Naomi,” Joel groaned. “Please don't try and equate whatever illegal skater raves you went to to this.”

“They weren't anything like that!” Naomi rebutted. “My skater group was not a bunch of low-life ravers!”

“Could you two please stop it?!” Shauna yelled. “We're derailing here!”

“Sorry,” Joel said.

“Anyway,” Shauna said. “That's it from me! So let's get out there, and get ready for this dance!”

-

Marian walked along the hallway, heading towards the elevator. With Wyatt having finished his outfits, there was little reason for her to join him, so she figured it would be best to help out elsewhere. Her current first choice was to go to the art studio and help Ben and the others with moving the supplies: from what she had heard, they had made far too much stuff to carry on their own. Surely they would appreciate her help.

She passed by a classroom door, continuing to head towards the elevator. But as she did so, Marian noticed that the lights dimmed the closer she got. She'd never really noticed it before, but then again, she hadn't really explored the academy since Monobear took over. And back then, she wasn't solely reliant on the lights for illumination: the sun had played just as large a part in lighting her way. A soft sigh escaped from Marian's lips: the sun already seemed like a distant memory, and she felt a pang of longing for it, but soon shook her head.

“That kind of thinking only leads down one deep, dark road...” Marian said to herself. “Don't go there.” She then continued to walk towards the elevator, but just as she was about to press the button on the wall, Monobear sprang up.

“Hey now!” he yelled, causing Marian to back up. “You can't go down this way!”

“Why not?” Marian said. “This is the only elevator that leads to the art studio; let me pass.”

“Nope!” Monobear chimed. “This elevator is now off limits! If you really want to go down to the art studio to join the other bastards, take the stairs!” He sighed. “The youth of today really is getting lazy, huh?”

“I don't have time for this nonsense,” Marian said. “Give me a valid reason why I can't use it.”

“Um... because...” Monobear began, faltering. “Because there are rats!”

“Rats?” Marian said. “Exclusively in the elevator?”

“Yes!” Monobear said.

“You really expect me to buy that for even a moment?” Marian said.

“Fine, you got me,” Monobear said. “There's actually plumbing issues on the stop before the art studio!”

“The wood workshop?” Marian questioned critically. “Why would there be plumbing near there? Wouldn't it just pose a hazard for the materials by causing rot from any excess moisture?” She placed a hand on her hip. “Besides, Shauna already complained about there being a lack of bathrooms within the vicinity of the workshop, so don't try and lie to me.”

“Ugh!” Monobear growled. “Just accept that I'm not letting you use this elevator right now, so scram!” At that exact moment, another light on the wall lit up, indicating that the elevator was currently in use. Marian merely raised an eyebrow at Monobear, and smirked.

The elevator door then opened, revealing Shauna and Ella standing there with a large cart full of electronic supplies: Marian spotted a remote, some speakers, and a lot of loose wire. Ella looked up at Marian, and then to Monobear, appearing startled.

“Oh, hey Marian,” she said, blanking Monobear as she and Shauna stepped out.

“Hey,” Marian said. Monobear silently fumed. “What do you have there?”

“Some of the stuff for the speaker system,” Shauna said. Cammy rested in the cart. “These are just the fiddly components to make it all work.”

“Cool,” Marian said. “Where's the rest of the stuff?”

“Downstairs,” Ella said. “I actually found it all in some obscure storage cupboard. It's really out of the way, so it's a stroke of luck I found it.”

“I suppose it is,” Marian said. “By the way, have either of you two experienced difficulty with this elevator?”

Shauna's eyes widened. “No,” she said. “Why?”

“Oh, Monobear tells me there's some kind of fault with it that means I can't use it,” Marian explained.

“Well, we didn't experience anything strange,” Ella said. She smiled sheepishly. “Just a regular elevator trip!”

“What did you do, Monobear?” Shauna suddenly asked, glaring at the black and white creature.

“Who? Me?” Monobear said. “Whatever do you mean?!”

“I think you know very well what we mean,” Shauna said. “What have you done to this elevator?”

“What are you talking about?” Monobear said. “I'm just a bear! What would I know about elevators?!”

Marian rolled her eyes. “So the elevator's fine, then?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Monobear exclaimed. “I've just realised that this was the wrong elevator! I'm thinking about the _other_ faulty elevator!”

“Oh, of course,” Marian replied flatly. “And which one would that be?”

“It's in the textile building,” Monobear explained. “I was just fixing it up for when you bastards finally begin killing!”

“Nobody's going to be killing anyone, Monobear,” Shauna said airily. She exchanged a look with Ella. “Anyway, I don't have time for this; we have to hook this all up.” She gave a quick smile to Marian. “See you later!”

Marian smiled back, and waved as the two girls walked down the hallway. “Yeah, see you tonight!” Once they were out of sight, Marian walked towards the elevator, stepping inside.

“Hey!” Monobear shouted. “I've not finished talking with you yet!”

“Whatever, Monobear,” Marian said. “The elevator's fine, and to be frank, I dislike talking to you immensely.”

“I'll have you punished for this!” Monobear screeched.

“You can't,” Marian said knowingly. “There's no rule I'm breaking.” The elevator door began to slide shut. “Have a nice day.”

“You bastards really tick me off!” Monobear yelled to the shut door, but as he did so, the elevator slipped down, cutting him and Marian off.

Marian let out a sigh as the elevator opened, revealing the art hallway. She quickly stepped out of the elevator as it shut behind her, and walked down the hallway, relieved with the silence. Seemed Monobear wasn't following her, thankfully. Probably he was now harassing Ella and Shauna. Marian paused for a moment, considering going back, but soon realised that they could deal with him: the quiet was refreshing.

She continued down the hallway, taking it all in. The walls were a pleasant cream, decorated with some sort of red patterns. However, the metal plates on top of the windows and the dim lighting made it seem less pretty. It was at this point that Marian realised that this was all a ploy on Monobear's part: he was trying to make the prospect of being cooped up inside as awful as possible, hoping for someone to snap and commit a murder. A plethora of questions rose up inside Marian's head as she continued to walk, but shook her head. The type of questions she was thinking of would in no way be answered: there was no chance of Monobear ever revealing his true motive behind this all. Maybe it was a sick social experiment that would keep going until someone was on the verge of killing? No, that was unlikely. From what Marian had gathered, it all seemed to be the trademark of the Despair Event. She let out a sigh. That meant that things weren't all that good in the outside world: there was a chance the authorities would be too busy to rescue them for a while.

Marian's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of voices. She looked up to see a classroom door partially open. A laugh sounded out: this was where everyone was. She took a step forwards, towards the door, when it suddenly opened all the way, revealing Nina carrying a box full of decorated cups.

“Hey Marian!” she said warmly. “What brings you here?”

“I had nothing else to do,” Marian said with a shrug. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah,” Nina said. She motioned to the door. “Just go see Ben: he'll find something for you to do.”

“Thanks,” Marian said.

“Anyway, I've gotta go,” Nina said. “This is the first of many boxes that need to be brought up to the meeting hall, and I don't want to take any longer than I have to.”

“Okay then,” Marian said. “See you later.” Nina walked past Marian, and along the hallway towards the elevator. Marian then opened the door fully, and stepped into the art studio.

There were several students already inside: Marian saw Charlie and Carlos packing plates into a box, and Chelsea helping Ben place a disco ball inside a much larger box. Carlos was the first to see Marian, and gave a friendly smile and wave.

“Hi!” he said, before standing up. “Hey, everyone, Marian's here!”

“No need to announce my entrance like that,” Marian said dryly. “I'm not royalty or anything.”

“Oh please,” Carlos said brightly. “You're our friend, and that automatically puts you up in that category!”

“I'm flattered,” Marian said, smiling wryly. “But I'm just here to see Ben.”

“What is it?” Ben asked as he lowered the ball into the box. “Has something happened?” Marian saw his eyes widen.

“No, no,” she said with a chuckle. “Nothing like that.”

“All right then,” Ben said. “So what do you want?”

“A job,” she said. “There's nothing else for me to do, so do you have anything I could do?”

“I have an idea!” Carlos exclaimed. “Marian, you could help me and Charlie with packing this stuff up? It'd help lighten the load significantly!”

“I'd say it's a good idea,” Ben said. “You can take that job if you'd like.”

“All right,” Marian said, smiling. “I'll do it.” She quickly walked over to the two ETLs in question, and grabbed a few colourful plates, carefully placing them in the box.

“This all seems a bit menial for you, doesn't it?” Carlos asked tauntingly. “With such a high-profile title, I expected you to be doing something more... important, I guess.”

“Like what?” Marian asked.

“I don't know,” Carlos said. “Maybe overseeing this whole thing?”

“That's not my style,” Marian said. “Besides, Shauna's got that whole thing covered.”

“Speaking of which, where is she?” Carlos said. “She was supposed to check up on us after helping Ella with the sound gear.”

“Probably getting held up by Monobear,” Marian said with a sigh. “He's still hell-bent on meddling with us.”

“I wonder how long it'll take before he leaves us alone,” Carlos said. “Surely he's realised nobody's going to be killing anyone, so this game of his is somewhat futile.”

“Or he's playing the long game and hoping one of us cracks over time,” Marian said. “But none of this is worth speculating about right now: we should be focusing on the dance instead.”

“Maybe,” Carlos said, uneasy. He placed a handful of cups into a second box, before moving closer to Marian, leaving Charlie alone on the other side of the table. “But I've got to ask you something,” he said, lowering his voice.

“What?” Marian said. “And why the secrecy?”

“Because I don't want Charlie to know,” Carlos said. He suddenly turned a deep red, and began to stammer. “You see, uh... well... I kind of like Charlie, and want to ask her to the dance.”

A warm smile fell on Marian's face. “So that's it,” she said. “I actually find that quite endearing.”

“What do you mean?” Carlos asked.

“I just mean to say I find it kind of cute,” Marian said. “Now, I suppose I should ask this now: do you have the courage to actually ask her?”

“Well, about that... I actually... uh...” Carlos faltered, before lowering his head in shame. “No, I don't.”

“Would you like me to help you out?” Marian asked. “I'm not exactly the most romantically experienced, but I can try and put a word in for you.”

“Would you?” Carlos asked. “Thanks. You're a great friend.”

Marian smiled. “Don't mention it.” At that moment, Charlie walked up to the two of them, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“What are you two talking about?” she asked.

“N-nothing!” Carlos exclaimed, blushing furiously. “Just – we were just – talking! Yeah – talking – about, um... the dance! That's it!”

Charlie giggled. “Well, if that's all, then there's no need to hide it from me, is there?” she said.

“Yeah,” Marian said. “But there is something else.”

“Oh?” Charlie asked. “What is it?”

“Carlos has something to say,” Marian said. She nudged Carlos' shoulder. “Don't you, Carlos?” She gave a reassuring wink to the ETL Blogger.

“Uh, you see...” Carlos said. “Charlie, I was... well... maybe... damn it, this is stupid.” His face continued to flush redder and redder.

“What is it?” Charlie asked, concern plastered on her face.

“It's just that... well...” Carlos paused, shaking. “I'd like to know if you'd maybe like to go to the dance with me?”

Charlie went silent, her face going pale. “Oh,” she said. “Um... that sounds nice. If you want to go together, then sure. We'll have fun with everybody for sure.” She flashed a serene smile, and Carlos blushed even harder.

“Really?” he said.

“Really,” Charlie replied. “Now let's finish packing.”

“Got it,” Carlos said with newly found vigour. He began to grab cups by the handful, and placed them inside the box. “Anything for you, Charlie.” Marian began to laugh at the sight of the two of them. Maybe this dance wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, since with people like Carlos and Charlie, how would anyone be able to do anything but have a good time?

-

“Nyoom!” Naomi cried out as she skated across the floor of the hall. “This polish works wonders!”

“Well, it took half the morning to find,” Joel said with a shrug. “I'd expect it to work pretty well.”

“Where did you find it exactly?” Melissa asked, pinning a banner against the wall. In sparkly pink text it read 'A NIGHT TO REMEMBER'; Shauna had found it in a storage cupboard near the dorms, and had given it to them before leaving to help Ella with the sound system.

“Wood workshop,” Joel explained. “There's a whole bunch of it near the hammers and saws.”

“They have hammers and saws?” Andrew asked. “I won't be sleeping easy tonight.”

“Monobear probably put so many there just to tempt us,” Mark said. “I'm sure nobody's going to actually kill someone with them, though.”

“And from an objective viewpoint,” John said, “it'd be all too obvious when coming to identify a killer if they used something from there.”

“How so?” Andrew asked.

“Well, out of this group here, only Joel knows the layout of the room,” John explained. “And provided she had the time, Shauna would also probably be familiar with the area; Ben might be as well depending on the art project. And of course factoring in a potential buddy system would mean that at most five or six people would have enough knowledge of the room to confidently use a weapon from there without giving it away, and as such the culprit could easily be found through blind guessing.”

“That's amazing...” Mark said. “How do you know all this?”

“I was enlisted to help with the most notorious serial killer,” John said. “I think I picked up a few things.”

“Well, I'm interested,” Melissa said. “I was actually planning on writing a murder-mystery novel when I first arrived, but now it seems in bad taste. But I still did some research on the subject matter beforehand; not anything to make me an expert, but enough to write three hundred pages of mystery.”

“Only three hundred?” Andrew said with a grin. “Wasn't your last book like six hundred and twenty pages or something?”

“Six hundred and twelve to be precise,” Melissa said. “Of course, that's after having eighty pages worth of content cut by my editor to keep it small enough to be marketed to the young adult audience.”

“That's a thing?” Joel asked.

“Unfortunately,” Melissa said, pouting. “Six hundred and twenty is the absolute maximum a young adult novel can be, since apparently the publishers think teens are incapable of reading lengthy pieces of literature.”

“That sucks,” Mark said. “But you know what? I'd read anything of yours, no matter how long!”

Melissa blushed in modesty. “No need to be so kind,” she said, brushing off the compliment.

“I really mean it!” Mark said, grinning. “And when we get out of here, you should definitely write a book about our experiences.”

“Really?” Melissa said. “It's hardly been eventful; we've been trapped in a building with an ultimatum of murder hanging over our heads. The only thing is that nobody's dumb enough to actually fall for it.” She sighed. “Plus, who'd read it?”

“I would,” Mark said. “You're a really great writer, you know?”

“Bleurgh! Keep this lovey-dovey stuff for when you bastards are slow-dancing to a dumb pop song tonight!” Without any warning, Monobear sprang up between Mark and Melissa.

“M-M-M-Monobear!” Mark wailed, leaping back in surprise.

“We're still doing this?” Monobear huffed. “Haven't you bastards gotten used to me yet?” He let out a downtrodden sigh. “I feel _beary_ under-appreciated!”

John groaned. “Please don't start doing the thing,” he said.

“What thing?” Monobear asked curiously, tilting his head.

“The bear pun thing,” John said. “I can tolerate the involuntary trapping, the pressure to murder, and even your appearing out of nowhere. But bear puns? That's crossing a line that's never meant to be crossed.”

“Jeesh! Way to take things lightly,” Monobear said.

“What do you want, anyway?” John asked, sighing.

“To see how the dance is coming along!” Monobear exclaimed.

“We're all set up except for the art equipment,” Naomi said. “They should be here any minute!”

“I don't see why it concerns you,” Andrew said. “Unless you're gonna help us set up, which would be kind of weird and uncomfortable for all involved. So please don't do that.”

“Enh... whatever!” Monobear said. “Someday you bastards are gonna warm up to me: mark my words!”

“Not gonna happen,” Joel said, rolling his eyes.

“Hey now!” Monobear shouted. “I was counting on this group of you bastards to be less dismissive! The last person I spoke to ended up so rudely absconding from the conversation via an elevator!”

“Wouldn't we all,” Melissa mused dryly.

“I heard that!” Monobear said. “What makes you bastards think you're better than me anyway?!”

“Well, for starters we don't trap innocent kids and try and force them to murder each other,” Mark said.

“Minor details,” Monobear said dismissively. “It's such a small amount on a global scale that the percentage of all humanity you bastards make up is entirely negligible!”

“Hey! We matter!” Naomi said. “Just because we're a tiny amount of all people doesn't make us worthless!”

“You tell yourself that,” Monobear said venomously. “Anyway, I'm getting bored. You bastards are just sitting around and making friends when you could be killing one another!”

“Is this going to become a running theme?” John said. “How many times do we have to say it: nobody's killing anybody!”

“Upupu~ We'll see after tonight,” Monobear said, giggling darkly.

“What?” Joel questioned.

“N-nothing! Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!” Monobear wailed, before dramatically faux-fainting. “Oh, how careless of me! Loose lips introduce potassium cyanide into the water supply!”

“Uh... what?” Andrew said blankly.

“That's not how the idiom goes,” Melissa said. “This bear is off-his-head insane.”

“Uwah! So vicious!” Monobear shrieked. At the same time, the doors to the meeting hall opened, revealing the group from the art room. “Too much! Too much!” And with that, Monobear vanished once more.

“Hey guys!” Naomi yelled as Chelsea and Ben wheeled in a large box. Behind them, Carlos and Charlie carried another box, albeit somewhat smaller. Nina and Marian held even smaller boxes.

“Hey Naomi,” Ben said. “We brought the supplies.”

“That's excellent!” Melissa exclaimed. “We have everything set up, so let's get right to it!”

-

All in all, it took a further three hours to fully decorate the meeting hall. At some point during the spectacle that was the implementation of every last decorations, Ella, Dirk, and Shauna arrived to set up the sound system. With long rows of tables filled with plates and cups, trays piled high with food, and a colourful spectrum of banners and streamers, the meeting hall was transformed from the dreary reminder that was their new life to a place that truly seemed worthy of holding a school dance.

Later still, Wyatt brought everyone up to his dorm room, and distributed out the outfits for the dance. It was stunning simplicity: midnight-blue summer dresses with white knee-socks and black pumps for the girls, and black dress suits with bow-ties for the guys. The next hour was then spent on hair and make-up until finally, at ten pm sharp, everyone stood outside of the doors to the meeting hall.

“Oh my gosh! I can't wait for this!” Naomi exclaimed to Shauna as they stood outside in the dimmed lighting. She still wore her skates, and had adorned her hair with a flower crown. “This is going to be the best!”

“I have to agree with you there, Naomi,” Shauna said. She had even dressed up little Cammy in a new tuxedo for the occasion. “This is definitely a night we will remember for a long time.”

“And trust me on this,” Ella said. “The music? It's to die for.” She gave a sly wink. “I'll be manning the DJ station tonight, but give all your gratitude to Dirk for helping me set up the playlists.”

“Whatever,” Dirk said with a shrug. He wasn't wearing the bow-tie and had instead opted to unbutton the first couple of buttons on the shirt. His hair also remained relatively untouched. “Let's just get this party started.”

“With pleasure,” Shauna said with a grin as she pushed open the doors to the meeting hall. Everyone immediately poured in, kicking the dance off with refreshments and the stellar choice of music. And everyone shared the same thought, regardless of their personal opinion on attending the dance: this was going to be a great night for all.

It was just too bad that one of them would be dead before sunrise.


	7. Bad End Night

The dance was off to a great start. Dirk and Ella's custom playlist had gone down brilliantly: so far, there hadn't been a single track anyone had groaned at. The refreshments were to die for, and the decorations captured the atmosphere perfectly.

Melissa sat at one of the long buffet tables, sipping from a plastic cup of iced tea. She had cleared a space around herself, and her laptop was plugged in, a charger cord extending to the socket on the wall behind her. A word document was open, several paragraphs in. The white colouration of the screen provided the brightest light source in the room: the only other lights came from the disco ball in the middle of the room.

She glanced at the screen again, reading the draft of the story she was writing so far: she had told herself that there were more important things to do, but she needed to write. It was the only thing keeping her grounded throughout all this madness.

“ _And so what if I didn't go back for him?” he cuttingly remarks to me, off-handedly dismissing the fate of the only other person I ever loved. “Surely you cannot be attempting to unload all the responsibility on me?”_

“ _I have no choice at this point,” I shakily reply, daring to defy him for the first time ever. “No other person had been in close contact at the time of death; through circumstance alone I must suspect you.”_

“ _I fail to see why you care so much for an old flame,” he jeers, looking down at me as if to make the one foot height difference even more prevalent. “You walked out on him, didn't you? Perhaps then you are_

“Hey, Melissa!”

Melissa was snapped out of reading through the story she was writing to see Mark standing to her right. He was holding a camera, and grinning. “Hi, Mark,” Melissa replied, shutting her laptop.

“What'cha writing?” Mark asked.

“Just a quick drabble,” Melissa said. “It's nothing worthy of becoming a best-seller or anything.”

“I have to disagree there,” Mark said with a wink. “You could write a grocery list and it'd become a global best-seller with a eight act movie deal.”

“You don't have to be so supportive,” Melissa said calmly. “I know where I stand in the world of literary success.”

“Speaking of which,” Mark added, “why the laptop? It's a party! You shouldn't be writing; you should be having a good time!”

“I could say the same to you,” Melissa said, motioning to the camera.

“At least I'm moving around and talking to people!” Mark responded enthusiastically. “Plus, this is still part of my Sun's Joy documentary!”

“How's that coming along, anyway?” Melissa asked.

“Pretty good,” Mark said. “I've edited it down to twenty-eight minutes of footage, and I've nearly got the narration script down! Hopefully tonight will provide enough footage to finally complete the first episode!”

“Hopefully,” Melissa said. She smiled. “I'm looking forward to it, Mark.”

“Thanks!” Mark exclaimed. “That really means a lot, coming from you!”

“Well, you're welcome,” Melissa said.

“Oh! I have an idea!” Mark said as the song changed to a more upbeat pop-dance track. “Wanna dance?”

“What?” Melissa asked, looking genuinely surprised. “But I'm not really the type to dance!”

“Come on,” Mark said. “You're all dressed up like that; you can't spend tonight just sitting in the corner.” He grabbed her by the hand. “Let's go!”

Melissa was useless to resist as Mark dragged her away from her laptop, and to the dance floor. Straight away, Mark began to dance to the song. Melissa also noticed Naomi and Joel dancing away.

“This is just too embarrassing; I'm sorry.” Melissa turned to see Chelsea standing on the dance floor, her arms folded. “Did Mark drag you out here?”

“Yeah,” Melissa said. “But I am surprised: the ETL Ballerina not wanting to dance?”

“Trashy techno-pop isn't really my forte,” Chelsea explained. “Nothing against the song; I like everything musical, really, but I don't see why we have to dance to everything.”

“What do you mean?” Melissa asked.

“I mean I don't see most of these songs as just the background to some school dance,” Chelsea said. “It might just be me, but when I listen to music, it's like listening to poetry with a beat. Every lyric has been thought over and a part of the singer imbued within each track. When you look at it like that, it sort of feels disrespectful to the artist to just dance away, ignoring the words behind the tune.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. “I didn't know you felt like that, Chelsea.”

“Well, I do,” Chelsea said.

“I see where you're coming from,” Melissa said. “My favourite thing about music is when you finally get exactly what the lyrics are about, or at least have a personal interpretation of the song.”

“Glad you see where I'm coming from,” Chelsea said. “I thought an author like you would know a thing or two about it.”

“Well, you guessed right,” Melissa said. “I'm feeling somewhat uncomfortable here; want to head back to one of the tables to get a snack or something?”

“I thought you'd never ask,” Chelsea said. “Let's blow this place.”

-

On the other side of the meeting hall, Carlos and Charlie stood next to each other, next to a chocolate fountain. Charlie was currently eating a strawberry dipped in chocolate, whilst Carlos stood in front of her, blushing and trying to act cool.

“So, how about this song?” he asked awkwardly, running his hands through his hair for the hundredth time this evening.

“I like it,” Charlie replied softly. “It's a very fun song.”

“G-good,” Carlos said. “Me too. It's really cool, don't you think?”

“Definitely,” Charlie replied, giggling. She had to admit, seeing Carlos this flustered around her was definitely really endearing.

“Wanna go dance?” he asked.

“No thanks,” Charlie said. “I like being back here; it feels like the spotlight's on you when you're out there.” She glanced over to see Naomi rushing around on her skates, singing along loudly to the song currently playing.

“It's cool,” Carlos said. “I totally understand.”

“Great,” Charlie said. She finished eating the strawberry. “You know, you should really try strawberries in chocolate; it's delicious.”

“Okay,” Carlos said. He grabbed a strawberry from a bowl on the table, and dipped it in the chocolate, placing the fruit in his mouth. His eyes lit up in delight. “Wow! That was delicious!”

“Told you,” Charlie said. “These strawberries were grown really well; they're the perfect size and texture.”

“Really?” Carlos exclaimed.

“Yes,” Charlie said.

“I guess that's good for them just being found in the kitchen,” he replied. “I suppose the actual staff here were really prepared for us.”

“That they were,” Charlie said. “It's a real shame that this whole thing had to happen; I really think that we would have had a great time otherwise.” She let out a sigh.

“Hey,” Carlos said, smiling at her. “Don't think about that. We're here to have a good time, not feel down. So promise me that you won't get yourself down tonight.”

“All right,” Charlie said. “I'll try.”

“That's the spirit,” Carlos said, returning to his bubbly demeanour. “So let's have a good time.”

-

Dirk stood on stage, headphones on his head as he adjusted the sound levels of the speakers, and arranged the next songs in the playlists: not that it mattered, but the next two songs directly came from Wyatt's music. The guy had a hell of a lot of different songs to choose from.

He was currently covering for Ella, who had taken a quick breather from playing DJ to grab a drink. He looked out over the hall to see her filling up a plastic cup with a soft drink from a dispenser near the corner of the room. He also watched as Shauna approached her, still holding Cammy, and the two of them walked back up to the stage.

“Hi, Dirk!” Shauna exclaimed excitedly. “How are you enjoying the dance?”

“Not bad,” he said, removing the headphones. “Dancing's not my thing, but the music's awesome.”

“Well, you helped pick it out,” Shauna said. “I only expect you're enjoying it!” Shauna definitely seemed to be full of more energy than normal tonight; she was really enjoying herself. That much was obvious.

“If you knew that, then why did you ask in the first place?” Dirk asked.

“I just want to make sure that everyone's having a good time,” Shauna said. “After everything we've been through, it's only right that we all enjoy ourselves.”

“I see where you're coming from,” Dirk said with a casual shrug. “But it's perfectly reasonable to not be enjoying yourself as much as possible when there's a maniac stuffed bear going around yelling 'kill kill kill!' literally every three seconds.”

“But the goal of this dance is to not let Monobear crush our spirits!” Shauna exclaimed. “Stop thinking like that, Dirk; it's not good.”

“Sorry,” Dirk said dryly. “I'll just try and pretend for a few seconds that we aren't in fact trapped within some school, completely cut off from civilisation, under the iron rule of a two-foot pile of stuffing that has issues with referring to us as anything but bastards.”

“Okay, you win,” Shauna said with a sigh. Cammy drooped as well. “Just don't try and dampen anyone else's mood, okay?”

“Whatever,” Dirk replied. He returned to the music station, and then cast a glance towards Ella. “Sorry; do you want to take over again?”

“No, you can handle it for a moment,” Ella replied, taking a sip from her drink. She screwed her face up. “Man, is this sour.”

“That's odd,” Shauna said. “Joel and Naomi told me it was fresh cola.”

“Well, something's up with the taste,” Ella said. She shoved the cup towards Shauna. “You try it.”

“No way!” Shauna suddenly cried out, hostile. “What if it's poisoned or something?!”

“Naomi? Joel? Poison?” Ella said with a laugh. “Those two are definitely not the types to actually try and poison us.”

“Well, you never know!” Shauna replied. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“You're hopeless...” Ella said. “Here, Dirk: try this.” She handed the drink over to Dirk.

“Fine,” Dirk said, taking the drink. “But if I die from poisoning you can be sure I'll come to haunt you.”

“I'll take up necromancy, if it's any consolation,” Ella replied.

“You'd better,” Dirk said, before bringing the drink to his lips. The fluid passed through into his mouth, and he swallowed. “Eugh; it tastes like someone injected booze with sugar.”

“What?” Shauna exclaimed in shock. “Really?”

“Yep,” Dirk said coolly. “The drinks have been spiked.”

“But who'd have done this?” Ella asked.

“Yeah!” Shauna added. “Who'd want to ruin the dance like that?”

At that exact moment, the music cut out for a moment, plunging the hall into silence.

“What the hell?” Dirk asked, staring at the sound system in confusion. He glanced at Ella, who shrugged in response. But then the music started up again; only instead of the playlist put together, it was a strange techno rave sound with a deep, pounding bassline. It was loud enough to cause the entire hall to vibrate; it was as if the music itself was generating a mini-earthquake.

“What's going on?!” Shauna yelled, her voice barely audible over the deafening song.

“I have no idea!” Dirk replied equally as loudly.

“What?!” Shauna shouted back.

“I said—”

“Woohoo! This is my jam!”

The three of them stared in disbelief as Monobear suddenly sprang up onto the stage. He stared at the trio for just a moment, before spinning around, and then, most unbelievably, he began to twerk.

“Of course it was you,” Dirk groaned. “Haven't you screwed with us enough yet for us to warrant a night off?”

“Nope!” Monobear exclaimed, still twerking away. “Not until you bastards are standing over a body!”

“Oh my god can you just stop doing this,” Dirk said, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head. “I hate your guts like you wouldn't believe, and even I'm embarrassed for you.”

“What?” Monobear questioned. “Isn't this the current dance trend?”

“If your IQ is sitting in the single digits,” Ella snarked. “You look like a joke.”

“Humph!” Monobear scowled, standing upright again. “Can't I do anything right with you bastards?”

“Not until you open up the front doors and we get the hell out of here,” Dirk said.

“Not gonna happen!” Monobear said cheerfully. “If you want out that badly, then just kill someone! It's not too hard; sheesh!”

“Why are you even here?” Dirk asked. “This is hardly a despair-oriented event, so I don't get why you'd show up.”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “Even us bears get disco fever sometimes!”

Shauna rolled her eyes. “Really?” she asked.

“Hey!” Monobear yelled. “You're one to talk, demon spawner!”

“Demon spa—” Shauna began. “Oh my god; you still can't believe Cammy's some evil being can you?”

“He is!” Monobear cried out. “He's using his powers of darkness to instil unholy thoughts into the pure innocent minds of the teenagers in this building!”

“This is just a joke,” Ella said. “But I do have a question, Monobear.”

“Eh?” Monobear replied.

“It's about the drinks,” Ella explained. “Did you have anything to do with them suddenly tasting like booze?”

“Well...” Monobear began. “I might have spiked all the drinks with Enhanced Talent Level Alcohol just a little.”

“You did what?!” Shauna yelled, suddenly furious. “Why would you do that?!”

“For fun!” Monobear replied. “It's just not a party without you bastards all getting drunk on spiked drinks!”

“You are the worst, you know that?” Shauna said, seething. “We're all here to have a good time, and honestly you're completely destroying the purpose of that!”

“Uwah!” Monobear exclaimed. “I came out to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now!”

“Could you at least put the music back?” Dirk asked. “I don't care if you get us all wasted; I just don't want to get hammered with this awful trash playing.”

“Fine,” Monobear said dryly. The music cut out and the original playlist resumed. “Happy?”

“Somewhat,” Dirk said. “Now can you leave us alone?”

“Whatever,” Monobear said off-handedly. “But I'll return in a little while; see you bastards around!” And with that, Monobear vanished again.

“This isn't good,” Shauna said. “We need to do something about the drinks; we can't have everyone getting drunk without their knowledge; it's just wrong!”

“Don't panic,” Dirk said. “I brought a whole bunch of water bottles with me in case the other refreshments were disgusting.”

“That's a relief,” Shauna said. “Where are they?”

“In a backpack behind the curtain,” Dirk said.

“How much?” she asked.

“About fifteen or so bottles,” Dirk said.

“That's hardly enough to get the others away from the drinks,” Ella said. “Whether you like it or not, Shauna, we're gonna have a bunch of drunk ETLs on our hands.”

“This is just great,” Shauna sulked. “Monobear has once again ruined everything!”

“Hey, you don't know that for sure,” Dirk said. “Maybe everyone here can actually handle their booze pretty well.”

“Let's hope so,” Shauna said.

-

“And honestly, I couldn't believe it! Her routine was so screwed over, yet she won first place like it was nothing!” Melissa sat next to Chelsea as the ETL Ballerina continued to rant about a rather unpleasant past experience.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Melissa said, taking small sips of her iced tea. “But you have to keep in mind that you still ended up winning the title of ETL.”

“True,” Chelsea said loudly. “But these kinda things just stick with you, ya know?” Melissa paused for a moment as Chelsea's breath reached her nostrils: she smelled of alcohol.

“Um, Chelsea,” Melissa began. “What have you had to drink?”

“Just some diet cola,” Chelsea slurred. “Why?”

“Because you're behaving like you've been drinking heavily,” Melissa said.

“Huwha?” Chelsea exclaimed. “Damn it! Someone musta spiked the drinks!”

“It seems that way,” Melissa said.

“Who d'ya think done it?” Chelsea asked.

“I'd guess Monobear,” Melissa said. “That's probably why he hijacked the music a little while back.”

“Oh my god,” Chelsea said, staring off into the distance. “Oh man. That's pissing me off.”

“I know it's annoying,” Melissa said, “but isn't that being a little harsh? You'll be sober again by morning.”

“No no no,” Chelsea continued, oblivious to Melissa. “Who does she think she is?”

“I'm sorry?” Melissa asked.

“Naomi,” Chelsea spat.

“I don't follow,” Melissa said.

“Just look at her!” Chelsea shouted. She grabbed Melissa's head, and turned it to face the dance floor. Naomi was currently moving around on her skates, talking and laughing with Ben. “Flirting with Ben like that! It makes me sick!”

“How is that a problem?” Melissa asked, pulling out of Chelsea's grip.

“Because Ben's the biggest hottie here and I saw him first,” Chelsea said. “Like hell is she gonna have a chance with him; I've been by his side for practic... prato... praciti...”

“Practically?” Melissa offered.

“Yeah!” Chelsea shouted. “For practically two days I've been by his side! And she waltzes up with her skates and her rainbow hair and suddenly she's queen of the hot girls!” Chelsea leaped to her feet. “I'm not gonna stand for it.”

“Now, now,” Melissa said nervously. “Let's not do anything we'll end up regretting, huh?”

“The bitch is going down,” Chelsea said, storming away from Melissa, and heading towards the dance floor, swaying unhealthily as she did so.

“Chelsea! Wait!” Melissa cried out, hurrying after her. And as she followed, she knew that nothing good would come from this conflict.

“So then, I'm about to lose, right? But then through some hella stroke of luck, he just goes _pchoo!_ Right into the wall!” Naomi exclaimed to Ben. “And then I managed to win!”

“That's certainly interesting,” Ben said sheepishly as Naomi circled him. “I wish that my artistic experiences were as exciting as yours.”

“Aw, come on!” Naomi said. “I'm sure they were just as awesome!”

“Not really...” Ben said.

“Pretty please?” Naomi asked. “Just a little teensy tiny story?” She suddenly slipped, and grabbed onto Ben to regain her balance. “Whoopsie!”

“Are you all right?” Ben asked. “You're a little... uncoordinated tonight.”

“Am I?” Naomi said, giggling. “How crazy is that?” Her face was a bright red, and she couldn't stop laughing. “You know, I do think that you're being way too serious for tonight.” Ben then caught the slurring of her words and knew.

“Have you been drinking, Naomi?”

“What?!” she exclaimed, letting go of him. “Why'd I be doing that? I've only been consummating cola!”

“Um...” Ben said, speechless at Naomi's unfortunate slip-up. But before either of them could continue talking, Chelsea stormed up to them.

“Hey, Naomi!” she yelled angrily. “What do you think you're doin' with my man?!”

“Huh?!” Naomi replied. “What are you talking about?!”

Chelsea moved up to Ben, and poked his chest. “I'm talking about this fine piece of man right here!” she exclaimed. “I called dibs!”

“You did not!” Naomi shrieked. “You can't do that to a person! And anyway Ben and I totes get on better than he does with you!”

“Take that back!” Chelsea roared, stepping towards Naomi.

“No!” Naomi said. “He likes me more, because at least I look like a _girl_ and not like an undercooked dough-ball!”

“Yeah?” Chelsea replied. “Well at least _I_ have an IQ above two and don't parade around like a ditzy airhead pop idol reject!”

“Um, girls,” Ben said nervously, looking at the escalating conflict. “Perhaps we should all calm down a little.”

“No way!” Naomi yelled. “Not when _she_ ruined our good time!”

“I did not!” Chelsea responded viciously. “I saved Ben from having the worst evening of his life!”

“That's it!” Naomi cried out. “I've had enough!”

Without warning, Naomi rushed up to Chelsea, and slapped her face. Chelsea backed up, and glared at Naomi, sheer rage becoming her only expression.

“You _bitch!_ ” Chelsea screamed. She suddenly ran towards Naomi, and gripped onto the ETL Skater's hair, pulling on it with all her strength.

“ _Let go!_ ” Naomi squealed, punching and kicking at Chelsea. She then managed to lift her arm up towards Chelsea's face, and punched her nose.

“Ah!” Chelsea cried out, backing away. She placed a hand to her nose, and looked down at it: it had started bleeding heavily. “ _I hate you!_ ”

“That's what you get for trying to ruin my date!” Naomi yelled back.

“But I'm—” Ben tried to say, but was interrupted by Chelsea.

“That's it,” she said. “I'm taking you down.”

“Huh?” Naomi questioned, but she was then tackled by Chelsea. The two of them ended up flying across the hall, heading towards the buffet table on the far side. Joel saw the two of them careening in his direction, and desperately leaped out of the way, spilling his drink. They both slipped on the fluid, and crashed into the table, causing it to collapse. At the far end of the table, the chocolate fountain fell off, crashing down towards Carlos and Charlie. Charlie screamed as the fountain crashed into her, catching her shoulder and coating her outfit in melted chocolate. In the middle of the table, various beverages were crashing onto Naomi and Chelsea, creating a puddle of drinks and soggy food. For a few moments, neither girl moved, but Chelsea then stood up, and roared triumphantly, before moving towards Ben.

At the same time, Melissa rushed up to Ben's side, her eyes wide with concern. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I'm fine,” Ben said. “I'm more worried about Naomi.”

“I'm so sorry,” Melissa said. “I tried to stop Chelsea, but someone spiked the drinks. She's wasted out of her mind.”

“I see,” Ben said. “I think Naomi's drunk too.”

“What?” Melissa asked. “This is getting out of hand; we need to let Shauna know.”

“We should,” Ben said. “But first let's make sure Naomi's okay.”

“Where are you going?!” Ben and Melissa looked to see Chelsea standing in front of them. She was soaked through with the refreshments, blood poured from her nose, and her make-up was running every which way. “I won, so I get to have you!” Chelsea exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes, and then looked at Melissa. “You're not gonna try and take him from me too, are you?”

“No,” Melissa said with wide eyes. “Why would I do that?”

“Good,” Chelsea said. She then grabbed Ben's hands. “So, let's dance for a bit. Maybe kiss and fall in love as well, hm?” She winked, and puckered her lips. Ben began to back away.

“I appreciate the offer and all, Chelsea,” he said apprehensively. “But I'm not really interested in you like that!”

“Youwhat?” Chelsea exclaimed. “So you _do_ like Naomi more! How dare she take you from me!”

“No, it's not that either!” Ben shouted, suddenly tense.

“Are you okay?” Melissa asked.

“Fine,” Ben said.

“So then are you gonna tell me what's wrong with me that makes you not want to date me?” Chelsea asked, becoming hostile.

“Okay!” Ben snapped. “It's because you're a girl!”

“What?” Chelsea said, not processing it. Melissa, however, mouthed an 'oh' in realisation.

“I like boys, okay?” Ben said. “Nothing against you, Chelsea; you're a very pretty girl, but I'm just not attracted to you.”

“You're gay?” Chelsea finally said blankly. “You mean, I just got into a fight with someone over a boy who isn't even into girls?” She began to laugh. “Oh man, my life is just the greatest.”

“I'm sorry,” Ben said. “I was trying to tell you but you were so riled up that I couldn't get a word in.”

“Nah, it's fine,” Chelsea said. “No big deal. We're still cool though?”

“Definitely,” Ben said with a grin.

“Well, that's a relief,” Melissa said. “But Naomi still needs our help.”

“Oh my god!” Chelsea said, burying her face in her hands. “I am such an idiot! Why did I do that?!”

“It was the alcohol,” Ben said as they hurried over to the table. “Don't hold it against yourself.”

They reached the table to see Marian, John, and Andrew standing over Naomi. Joel and Mark were currently dragging Naomi out of the mess she had fallen into.

“Is she okay?” Chelsea asked, extremely concerned.

“She's knocked out, but she'll live,” Joel said as they set Naomi down on a row of chairs. “Man, what happened here?”

“The drinks were spiked, and we ended up fighting over Ben,” Chelsea explained, before letting out an anguished cry. “Oh man, she'll never forgive me!”

“I wouldn't worry about that,” Andrew said. “Naomi's a pretty bubbly person: she'll be cool in the morning.”

“Really?” Chelsea asked. “Oh my god, I was so stupid! Why did I do this?”

“Come on, Chelsea,” Mark said warmly. “It'll all be fine in the morning. All right?”

“Okay,” Chelsea said, wiping tears from her face. “But I don't want to face her alone.”

“That's fine,” Mark said. “We'll all be there tomorrow to keep the atmosphere bright and happy.”

“You'd better keep to your promise,” Chelsea said.

“That's all well and good,” Marian said, “but we need to look at the bigger picture here; who spiked the drinks?”

“Monobear.” The group turned to see Shauna walking over to them. “He decided that it'd make the dance more fun. But it's just ended up with Naomi getting knocked out and Charlie getting injured.”

“What?” John asked. “Charlie's hurt?”

“The chocolate fountain fell on her,” Shauna explained. “Her shoulder's bruised, but Carlos is looking after her.”

“This dance is becoming a disaster,” Andrew said. “All because of that damn bear.”

“Should we end it early then?” Melissa asked. “Because it'll only get worse.”

“I don't want to,” Shauna said. “But it's looking like it'll be our only option; someone will get really hurt if this continues.”

At the same time, Nina and Wyatt walked up to the group. “What's going on?” Nina asked.

“We're thinking of stopping the dance,” John said. “Two people have already been hurt.”

“Who?” Wyatt asked.

“Charlie and Naomi,” Marian said. “Monobear spiked the drinks and Chelsea and Naomi ended up getting into a fight that ended with Naomi unconscious in a pile of food and drink, and Charlie crushed by a chocolate fountain.”

“Oh my gosh,” Nina said. “Are they all right?”

“They're fine,” Shauna said. “Charlie's just a little shocked, and Naomi will come round.”

“That's a relief,” Wyatt said. “Perhaps we should stop it then.”

“It's the most sensible option,” Marian said. “If it doesn't stop, it could end up escalating to the point where someone could actually get killed.”

“I suppose we should put it to an end,” Shauna said, deflated. “I'll go tell Dirk and Ella to turn the music off and turn the lights on.” She walked away from the group, and up to the stage. After a few moments, the music cut out, and the lights turned on again.

“Man, that sucks,” Dirk said as he, Ella, and Shauna returned to the group. “Monobear's making it so we can't have anything decent.”

“Tell me about it,” Marian said dryly.

“So how are we gonna do this?” Dirk asked. “Are we gonna just get up and go to our dorms, or are we gonna clear up first?”

“What time is it?” Shauna asked.

“Just after midnight,” Wyatt said.

“It's far too late to clear up right now,” she said. “We'll just get some sleep and do it in the morning.”

“Sounds good,” Marian said. “But before we head out, it'd be best if we all go in groups.”

“Why?” Nina asked.

“In case someone tries to pull a fast one and commit a murder,” Marian said. “We don't know who's entirely sober here, so it'd just be dangerous to head out alone.”

“I'm in agreement,” John said. “Discovering a body would just make it all worse.”

“All right then,” Shauna said. “So let's go put ourselves into groups. How big should we go?”

“I'm thinking groups of four, to deter any potential double murders,” Marian said. “Melissa, Mark, Chelsea, and Ben can be one group.”

“That's fine,” Ben said.

“Wyatt, Nina, Carlos, and Charlie can be another,” Marian said.

“Got it,” Nina said. “I'll let those two know.”

“I'll be in a group with Ella, Shauna, and Joel,” Marian said. “So Dirk, Andrew, Naomi, and John will be the last group.”

“That's fine,” Andrew said. “But I have a question: what do we do about Naomi?” He motioned to her. “She's out cold.”

“That could be a problem,” Marian said.

“Couldn't we just move her?” Dirk asked.

“That'd be dangerous,” John said.

“Hey, I've got an idea,” Andrew said. “I'll stay here until Naomi wakes up and then we'll head back together.”

“I don't know about that,” Marian said. “You'll be alone in here and something could happen.”

“It's better than slowly moving through the hallways in the dark being a potential target,” Andrew said. “Plus, it's not as if anyone could sneak up on us in here.”

“That's true,” John said. “This place is pretty safe.”

“The only downside I see is that Monobear could spring up in here and cause you bother,” Shauna said. “But other than that, it's not that bad an idea.”

“All right then,” Marian said. “Andrew, you can stay with Naomi until she wakes up. Dirk and John, feel free to join another group whilst you head back to the dorms for the night.”

“Can do,” Dirk said. “I'll be walking with your group if that's okay.”

“Same here,” John said. “Our dorms are all closely grouped together so it won't be as if we're taking any more time.”

“That's fine with me,” Marian said.

“I don't have a problem with them joining us,” Ella said.

“The more the merrier, huh?” Joel said.

“In that case, it's settled,” Marian said. “Let's head back to our dorms for the evening; Andrew, are you sure you'll be all right here alone?”

“I'll be fine,” Andrew said. “Besides, who's actually going to try and kill someone?”

“That's true,” Shauna said.

“So, I'll see you guys in the morning,” Andrew said, grinning confidently.

“All right,” Marian said. “See you.”

-

The individual groups of students swiftly dispersed from the meeting hall, having had to bring the dance to an unfortunate early end. Most of them ended up making it back all right; the only exception was Marian's group: they had to take a detour to the IT room; Ella had left a USB drive in there.

Currently, the others were standing outside the room as Dirk and Ella searched the room for the USB drive. Marian looked over to John and Joel, who were lazily leaning against the wall. She then glanced over at Shauna, who was wearily standing with Cammy firmly in her arms.

“I don't understand why this couldn't wait until the morning,” Joel yawned. “It's nearly one in the morning; I'm not gonna wake up until next evening at this rate.”

“Don't complain,” Shauna said. “It's not as if it'll take that long; there are only a few computers in there.”

“I know,” he replied. “I'm just so tired, though.”

“Well, your wait's over,” John said, motioning to the door. Ella and Dirk walked out; Ella held the drive in her hands.

“Got it,” Ella said.

“Now we can finally head back to our dorms to sleep,” Dirk said. “You know, so we can see who wakes tomorrow with a hangover.”

“Dirk,” Shauna said. “That's hardly something to joke about.”

“Hey,” Dirk said with a shrug. “If you can't poke fun at a crappy situation, then what's the point?”

“He has a point,” Marian said. “If we don't try and make light of it, it'll just bring us down which is what Monobear wants.”

“Hey, speaking of which,” Ella said. “I haven't seen him since the dance.”

“That is somewhat odd,” John said. “Half-drunk students wandering the halls? You'd think it would be a perfect opportunity for him to harass us.”

“Well, maybe we should just be grateful that he isn't here,” Shauna said. “We might even make it to our dorms in peace.”

“Maybe,” Marian said. “In any case, let's go.”

The group of six moved through the hallway, and to the staircase at the end that led down to the dorm rooms. However, just as they began to descend, Shauna tripped. She gripped onto the banister, steadying herself, but in the process, Cammy flew out of her hands, crashing down to the bottom of the stairs in a heap.

“Cammy!” Shauna cried out, rushing down the stairs.

“Wait up!” Joel called after her as the group followed Shauna down to the bottom off the stairs. Shauna was stood there, staring in disbelief at Cammy; in the fall, one of his arms had broken off.

“No...” she said softly, cradling the toy in her arms.

“I'm so sorry,” Marian said.

“This is bad,” Shauna said. “I need to go fix him immediately.”

“What?” Joel exclaimed. “Shauna, it's one thirty and dark: can't you wait until morning?”

“No!” Shauna shouted. “What if Monobear decides to shut off the wood workshop tomorrow? Then I won't be able to fix him!” She gave them all one last look. “This can't wait!”

“Shauna!” Marian yelled as Shauna took off down the hallway, heading for the workshop.

“This isn't good,” John said. “We need to bring her back before she hurts herself.”

“I'll do it,” Ella said.

“Really?” Dirk asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I know that area probably better than anyone else; I'll get her back before she puts herself in any more danger.”

“Would you do that for us?” Marian asked.

“She's my friend too,” Ella said. “I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt.”

“Thank you,” Marian said. “Be careful.”

“I will,” Ella said. “I'll meet up with you all again in the morning.”

“All right,” Dirk said. “Just don't die.”

“Trust me,” Ella said wryly. “I won't.”

Ella then took off down the hallway after Shauna, leaving the rest of the group in the dorm hallways.

“Do we wait for them?” Joel asked.

“I wouldn't do that,” Dirk said. “Ella's competent, plus we'll just end up being exhausted by the morning.”

“True,” John said. “In that case let's call it a night.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “See you all in the morning.” And with that, the remainder of the group also dispersed, each retiring for the evening. They were all asleep within fifteen minutes.

-

Back in the meeting hall, Andrew sat at the one surviving buffet table, nibbling at a chocolate pastry to keep himself going. Naomi was still out cold on the far side of the room: he had used a table cloth as a blanket for her. At least she seemed comfortable.

He wished that she would wake up soon, though: he was beginning to feel quite drowsy, even with all this sugar going through his system. But he just couldn't fall asleep: that would be putting both of them at risk. But from what? Nobody was going to kill anyone, and even if someone had planned it, they were probably too drunk and too tired to go through with it.

The lights hummed softly, being the only sound Andrew heard. It was somewhat unnerving, but also kind of soothing. If anything, it reminded him of staying overnight in a hospital: the strange noises there were also similar to this. The only difference was that in this building, Andrew felt more alone and isolated than in a hospital: there were only fifteen other human beings in here. Hopefully they would get out soon enough.

Andrew went to take another bite of the pastry when the lights suddenly went out, plunging him into pitch-blackness.

“H-huh?” he called out, his voice echoing around. “Someone there? Naomi, is that you?” No response. Then Andrew heard the doors to the hall creak open. “Hello?” He was beginning to feel terrified. He strained to listen for a moment, hearing the sound of footsteps: someone was definitely walking around in here.

A terrible thought occurred: what if this was someone attempting to kill? No; it couldn't be. “Who is it?” Andrew cried out, feeling his pulse increase. Without meaning to, he leaped to his feet, the sound of the chair scuffling against the floor sounding out. He was now feeling terrified: something was definitely wrong. It was still too dark to see, but Andrew glanced nervously in the direction of Naomi. Was she okay?

Suddenly there was a sound behind him. Andrew swung around, and was about to speak, when suddenly, there was an intense burning pain in his chest.

He tried to cry out, but found himself in too much pain to. Andrew then felt himself going weak: without warning he fell backwards, slamming into the table, and then sliding onto the floor. He couldn't see what was going on, but could now feel the blood oozing from his body.

Andrew was beginning to go faint, but before everything faded away, he still managed to hear one last thing: the sound of footsteps hurrying away, and a voice.

“Pupupu~”

He was dead less than a minute later.


	8. Piecing the Puzzle

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! It is now seven am, marking the end of Night Time. The cafeteria has been unlocked, and the lights turned on. Here's to another day of mutual killing! Upupu~”_

Naomi's eyes fluttered open. For a few moments, she stared blankly at the ceiling before sitting upright. As soon as she did so, a dull pain resounded in her head. She tried to move, but found that she was wrapped in a white sheet.

“Huh?” she said aloud as she took in her surroundings. She was in the meeting hall, with a table cloth wrapped around her. Gingerly she pulled it off, and looked at herself. She was still wearing her dress from the dance, and there was a long shallow gash along her right arm. It had stopped bleeding some time ago, though.

To Naomi's right was a buffet table: it had split down the centre, and there was a pile of food and drink scattered around. There was the distinct smell of booze in the air. It all came back to her at that moment: the dance, Ben, Chelsea, the fight... Naomi buried her face in her hands in shame. Oh God, what had she been thinking? Was Chelsea okay? Had she accidentally killed her as a result?

“Oh God, I'm a killer,” Naomi whispered softly, trembling, before realising how preposterous that idea was. If Chelsea was dead, then the others would have woken her by now for the investigation. Plus, wouldn't she have been executed by now? Naomi sighed softly; she was worrying over nothing. She pulled herself off of the chairs she was laying on, and stood up, stretching. Despite herself, Naomi's stomach growled: breakfast was sounding like a good idea right now. It'd also be a great time to reconcile with the others. With that decided, Naomi took a few steps towards the middle of the hall.

But then she saw the far wall, and all these pleasant thoughts vanished.

There was a long, red splatter going up the wall, contrasting horribly with the decorations. Naomi felt the air around her go cold. Surely not...

“No. It can't be...” Naomi said aloud, trying to calm her nerves as she crossed the room. She looked at the buffet table, seeing the table cloth half-pulled down, and also splattered with red. She suddenly felt very afraid, and an urge to run from this room and never look back hit her all at once. But still Naomi walked over to the other side of the table, past the overturned chairs, and to the source of the red. She looked at the floor, and let out a scream that filled the room, and would have surely echoed around the hallways if not for the closed doors.

It was Andrew, slumped back against the table in a pool of blood, still wearing his dance outfit. His head was facing down, his eyes vacant and unseeing. There was blood everywhere, but Naomi still managed to make out two deep wounds: one was a deep stab wound on his chest, and the other a deep slash across his throat.

The sight in front of Naomi didn't lie: the ETL Racer was dead.

After a few moments of staring in horror, Naomi's mind began to spin. If Andrew was dead, then that meant that he had been killed. There was a murderer in Sun's Joy Academy. Someone had killed her friend. Someone had bought into Monobear's game.

Letting out another shrill wail, Naomi turned tail and darted towards the doors, her skates leaving red tracks. The others had to know.

-

Melissa sat with Dirk, Ella, Shauna, and Mark, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she ate away at a particularly large pancake. She glanced over at the cafeteria doors: a few more students were still filing in.

“So, that dance was possibly the greatest disaster ever witnessed by humanity,” Dirk said breezily, his hands on his PDA.

“Only because of Monobear,” Mark pointed out. “Otherwise, it was pretty fun. Wouldn't you guys agree?”

“I suppose so,” Melissa added.

“What about you two?” Mark asked Ella and Shauna. “What did you think of the dance?”

“Oh, sorry,” Ella said. “Guess I spaced out for a moment.”

“It's my fault,” Shauna said. “Cammy broke last night, and Ella kept watch whilst I fixed him. We were in there until three this morning, and barely got any sleep.”

“Hey, where is that little puppet anyway?” Dirk asked.

“In the workshop,” Shauna explained. “I had to apply another coat of paint, and he's still drying out.”

“Should be done by this evening, hopefully,” Ella said. “The glue has to set as well.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Shauna said sheepishly. “Must be the sleep-deprivation.”

“Are you sure it was a good idea to be working with such dangerous tools so late?” Mark asked, concerned.

“Don't worry,” Ella said. “Nobody died, so there's nothing to be concerned about.”

At that moment, the cafeteria doors burst open, revealing a pale-faced Naomi, still in her dress. Her eyes were wide, and her skates were coated in a thin layer of blood.

“Naomi?” Marian asked from across the room. “Are you all right?”

“Oh God oh God oh God oh God!” Naomi muttered, trembling.

“What is it?” Marian repeated. “Naomi, what happened?”

“Th-the...” Naomi whimpered, crying now.

“I've got a bad feeling about this,” Melissa said to her group. She glanced back over to see Chelsea approaching Naomi.

“Naomi, what's wrong?” Chelsea asked, standing in front of the ETL Skater. Naomi looked up at Chelsea and her face went white, her breathing laboured.

“There's a dead body!” she finally screamed, before sobbing into Chelsea's shirt.

A stunned silence and a feeling of sheer terror filled the air. Without thinking, Melissa stood up, seeing a few others joining her. She surveyed the room, trying to see who was missing. Everyone was here except for Nina and Andrew. Melissa's heart dropped to her stomach.

“Where is it?” Dirk said uneasily. “Naomi, where's the body?”

“In the meeting hall...” Naomi wept. “There was so much blood... Oh my God...”

“We need to go there immediately,” Marian announced, taking control. “Chelsea, you stay here and try and calm Naomi down. She's in shock; the last thing she needs is to see the body again.”

“We'll let you know everything, though,” John said.

“Okay,” Chelsea said. “Be careful!”

And with that, the other twelve students burst out of the cafeteria, and rushed down the hallways and stairs to the meeting hall. The doors were shut once more, but the bloody skate tracks were visible on the ground. However, as they drew closer to the hall, every last one of them slowed to a halt.

“I don't wanna go in there...” Carlos whimpered, standing next to Charlie. However, before the conversation could continue, another voice sounded out.

“Hey guys. What are we all doing here? Did Monobear summon us all or something?” Everyone turned to see Nina walking down the hallway nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of the terror that plagued the others. If any of them had had a clearer head, some might have thought of Nina as a suspect, but instead the harrowing realisation came to them: it was obvious who was behind those doors.

“Worse,” Ella said. “There's a dead body in there.”

“What?!” Nina cried out, her face going pale. “No... it can't be!”

“We don't know for sure,” Shauna said. “But Naomi did look horribly panicked and the blood on her shoes makes me think she's right.”

“So these tracks on the floor...” Nina gasped, leaning against the wall. “It's blood?”

“Yeah,” Shauna said.

“Have you looked yet?” Nina asked breathlessly.

“Well... no,” Mark said. “None of us want to see it.”

“I'll do it,” Dirk said, walking towards the doors. He pushed them open, revealing the meeting hall. “Now come on; I'm not doing this alone.”

Dirk stepped into the room, followed shortly by Marian and John. The others reluctantly walked into the hall as well. The first thing any of them noticed was the trail of blood from Naomi's skates leading to the less damaged buffet table.

“I guess they're over there,” Marian said, even though they already knew who it was.

“Yeah. Let's get this over with,” John added as they approached the table. Dirk took the lead, and followed the blood trail past a bunch of overturned chairs, until he stopped in his tracks.

“Damn...” he whispered. Marian and John soon reached up with Dirk, and also stopped upon laying their eyes on the corpse of Andrew.

“Oh my...” Marian said, clearly distressed, but she forced herself to adopt a professional demeanour.

“I can't believe it... Andrew...” John added, closing his eyes in reverence for their departed friend.

_Bing-bong! Bing-bong!_

“ _Attention students of Sun's Joy Academy! A body has been found! A body has been found! You bastards will have a little while to investigate, before the school trial begins!”_

Dirk, Marian, and John all exchanged bewildered looks as the other students all entered the hall.

“So, was it...?” Charlie asked feebly.

“Yeah,” Marian said grimly. “It was Andrew.”

“No...” Joel said softly. “Who could have done this?”

“I don't know yet,” Marian said.

“So he's behind that table?” Melissa asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes,” Dirk said. “He's there, and it's not pretty.”

“What's with all the grim faces? It's like I've walked in on a funeral or something!”

Every student looked as Monobear appeared in the middle of what was the dance floor.

“Monobear...” Ella said apprehensively. “What the hell do you want?”

“What do I want?” he replied breezily. “Why, I have presents for you!”

“Presents?” Shauna questioned sceptically. “Why would you give us presents!”

“Because you have proven that you do in fact have the balls to kill!” Monobear said. “It's like December 25th in here! Although, for a festive piece, it's not very green...” Monobear let out a depressed sigh, before springing back up. “I have an idea! Why doesn't the killer just add miss ETL Gardener's thumbs to the corpse! The green in those will definitely balance it out, making it as festive as possible!”

“I... I can't do this any more...” Charlie whimpered. “I'm sorry...!” Crying, Charlie turned and ran from the meeting hall, her sobs echoing around.

“Wait! Charlie!” Carlos called out, going to follow, before Ben placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Let her get it out of her system,” Ben said.

“Aaaanyway,” Monobear sung. “It's time for the presents!” He did a little pirouette, and then everyone's ElectroIDs bleeped. “Ta-da! Monobear Files!”

“Monobear Files?” Shauna asked. “What?”

“They're little files containing as much information about the victim as possible to help you bastards in your investigation!” Monobear explained. “After all, it'd just be cruel and unfair to force you to determine all the extra tricky stuff that only an ETL Inspector or ETL Detective could have any chance of finding out!” He let out a little giggle. “But, you still have to find out the culprit on your own.”

“I see,” Ella said.

“That's all for now! Good luck in your investigation!” Monobear chimed. “See you at the school trial!” And with that, Monobear was gone.

“Well, I suppose we should at least check these files,” Marian said. She loaded up her ElectroID, and read through the Monobear File.

_**Monobear File #1** _

_**The victim was Andrew Cyrus, Enhanced Talent Level Racer.** _

_**The time of death was 02:08** _

_**The body was found in the meeting hall.** _

_**The cause of death is a sliced jugular vein.** _

_**As well as this, a stab wound to the chest was inflicted prior to the fatal injury.** _

“That's horribly vague,” Dirk said, reading through the file. “There's nothing here that could help point us towards the culprit.”

“But it does give us a time and method,” Marian said. “That's more than enough to go on.”

“And that time is really handy,” John added. “We can use it to establish alibis.”

“At two in the morning?” Wyatt questioned. “Wouldn't everyone have been asleep in their dorms at this time?”

“Well, we know for sure Andrew wasn't in his dorm at that time,” Marian said. “Neither was Naomi.”

“Shauna and I were repairing her puppet in the workshop until an hour or so after the murder was committed,” Ella said.

“If only we had thought to check on them,” Shauna said sadly. “Maybe Andrew would still be alive.”

“Don't blame yourselves,” Marian said. “It's the culprit who's at fault here.”

“Anyway,” John said. “So far, we have established three people who were not in their dorms at the time of the murder.” He looked over at the rest of the students. “Was anyone else up at this time?” Silence.

“Uh, well,” Mark said. “I did go to the IT room at some point in the early hours to edit the film for the documentary because I couldn't sleep; I don't know what time that was, though.”

“But why bother with individual accounts?” Ella suddenly asked. “I find it odd that Naomi was in here at the time of the murder, and wasn't killed either.”

“She does sound like our prime suspect,” Nina said reluctantly.

“Maybe,” John said.

“In that case, I suggest a small group goes to ask her about her account of last night,” Marian said. “We'll then need teams to investigate the school for a murder weapon, and a further group to investigate the crime scene.”

“Count me out,” Dirk said.

“What?” Marian asked.

“I'm investigating on my own,” Dirk replied, placing his PDA in his pocket. “If you remember, the culprit can kill up to two people, and I'm only seeing one corpse right now. I don't trust anyone enough to investigate with them.” He glanced over at Marian. “But don't worry; I'll share my findings at the trial.” Before anyone could say any more, Dirk had left the meeting hall, leaving them all with an underlying feeling of distrust.

“You know, he has a point,” Nina said. “The killer could strike again.”

“I doubt it,” John said. “Looking at the body, the culprit required a lot of effort to kill him. I don't think they'll have the time to recover the murder weapon, and kill.”

“Besides, if we all go off on our own,” Marian added, “it'd just be easier for the culprit to dispose of any evidence.”

“I see,” Nina said. “But let's not go off in groups with less than three people. Just to be on the safe side, you know?”

“It's fine,” Marian said. “I wasn't planning on having small groups anywhere either.”

“Moving on,” Joel said. “Who's going where?”

“I'll be staying here,” Marian said.

“Me too,” John added. “I'll see if I can infer any more about the culprit from the crime scene.”

“You know, I might stay here as well,” Joel said. “You could use the extra strength to move stuff around if there are any hidden clues.”

“Good idea,” Marian said.

“I'll go to the art studio,” Ben said. “Along with Nina, Shauna, and Ella. The weapon's probably some kind of knife, and since the cafeteria was locked, that leaves those places as the only locations where they could have picked one up.”

“I'm fine with that,” Nina said.

“I'll go see Naomi about last night,” Wyatt said.

“That's fine,” Marian said.

“I'm thinking of going around with Melissa to film the investigation,” Mark said. “That way, if anyone gives us an account and then tries to contradict themselves in the trial, we'll know.”

“Okay,” Marian said.

“Uh... I'll go and see Charlie,” Carlos said. “I don't know what else to do.”

“Why don't you come with us?” Melissa asked. “Safety in numbers, and it's a little less upsetting than the other tasks.”

“I'll do that then,” Carlos said.

“Then it's settled,” Marian said. “Let's begin the investigation.”

-

The groups quickly dispersed, leaving Joel, Marian, and John alone in the meeting hall.

“So what's the first thing we do?” Joel asked.

“I think John can provide the answer there,” Marian said.

“Oh?” John questioned.

“You're going to be investigating the body,” Marian explained. “A la Sunshine Sally.”

“I see,” John said. He walked over to Andrew's corpse.

“I don't see,” Joel said.

“John can determine a lot about the killer just from looking at the body,” Marian said. “Like if it was premeditated or a spur of the moment. And he can figure out roughly what was going through their mind as they committed the crime.”

“Whoa,” Joel said. “I'm impressed.”

“How's it going, John?” Marian called over after a few minutes. John was crouched down, studying Andrew's body with fervour.

“I got nothing,” John said in disbelief, standing up.

“What?” Marian asked.

“There's nothing,” John said. “Besides the fact that it took a lot of effort to wield the weapon, I can't infer anything about the killer.”

“You're kidding, right?” Marian asked. “Please, tell me you're kidding.”

John shook his head in defeat. “I'm not,” he said, glancing at the body. “There's nothing there. The entire crime feels so... robotic. The weapon might as well have just attacked Andrew on its own accord and it wouldn't make a difference.”

“Wait,” Joel said. “So it's like the killer wasn't even thinking?”

“Exactly,” John said.

“I have an idea,” Joel said. “What if Monobear did it?” After seeing the other two give him confused looks, he elaborated. “I'm saying that he's not exactly a person; maybe he has an off switch for emotion? He'd be able to kill Andrew with ease like that.”

“Except that Monobear wouldn't directly kill a student,” Marian said. “He's been waiting for us to kill one another since this thing started. Sorry, but I think one of us definitely did it.”

“So the body's a no-go,” John said. “How about the rest of the room? We need to solve one mystery before anything else: how come Naomi lived whilst Andrew died?”

“That is puzzling,” Marian said. As she spoke, Joel rushed over to the make-shift bed Naomi had been resting on.

“Guys!” he called out. “Look at this!”

Marian and John rushed to join Joel, standing over the chairs.

“What is it?” Marian asked.

“Look at the table cloth,” Joel said, lifting it up. “Naomi was using this as a blanket, judging from how it's still wrapped around one of the chairs.” He pointed to one section of it. “...There!”

“Oh,” Marian said in surprise, seeing a long red stain across the white fabric. “Blood.”

“I thought I saw something when we first came in,” Joel said. “I was right.”

“Then this may mean Naomi was attacked in the night,” John said. “Only the culprit wasn't successful here.”

“Perhaps they were tired out from killing Andrew,” Marian offered. “They might have only had the time to give a passing slash.”

“Unless she got it at the dance?” Joel asked.

“No,” Marian said. “The only blood was from Chelsea's nose; there was nothing to hurt Naomi like that anyway.”

“We need to find the weapon,” John said.

“It's unlikely they left it here, though,” Marian said. “The only thing we can do is hope the others stand a better chance of discovering it.”

-

The elevator pinged open, and the group of four students walked out into the hallway.

“So, the art studio,” Nina said. “You really think the killer used this place to get the murder weapon?”

“It's highly likely,” Ben said. “There are all kinds of knives down here – pallet knives, sculpting knives... you name it.”

“Any idea which one it could be?” Ella asked as they continued towards the door housing the studio.

“Probably a sculpting knife,” Ben said. “It's probably the only thing large enough to deal the damage it did to him.”

“Yeah...” Nina said. “I can't believe he's dead.”

“I know,” Shauna said, looking odd without her puppet in her arms. “I just hope we find out who did this.”

“Same here,” Ben said as he placed his hand on the doorknob. He pulled on it, and opened up the door, stepping inside. What he saw caused him to gasp out loud.

The art studio was a wreck: boxes of paint were everywhere, giving the room splatters of rainbow everywhere. Easels were spread across the floor, shattered. And the cupboard containing all the knives had been opened and emptied. Ben spotted a couple laying amongst the mess.

“What... is this?” Nina asked, staring.

“Someone's trashed the place,” Ella said, her eyes wide.

“We'll never find anything in here before the trial,” Shauna said hopelessly.

“Well, we could always clean the place up,” Ben offered. “We may find something in time.”

“Hey, I have an idea,” Nina said. “Half of us could stay here and rummage through, and the other half could look elsewhere.”

“But where could we look?” Ben asked.

“The wood workshop has a bunch of sharp objects as well,” Shauna said. “The culprit could have hidden it there after Ella and I left.”

“But what if that room's just as bad as this one?” Ben argued.

“Then that means someone destroyed Cammy,” Shauna said airily. “If that's the case, then I'll stop at nothing to find out who the culprit is.”

“I'll stay here and help look for the weapon,” Ella said.

“I'm staying too,” Ben added. “I know this place better than anyone; we may just get lucky.”

“I guess that means that Shauna and I will be going to the workshop,” Nina said. She put on a determined smile. “Between us, I'm sure we'll find some evidence!”

“Well, let's not waste time,” Shauna said. “We don't know for sure how long we'll have until Monobear calls us to the trial.”

“All right,” Nina said. “We'll meet up with you here if we find anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Ben said. “Good luck.”

Nina led Shauna out of the art studio, and down the hallway. As they walked, the sounds of Ben and Ella rummaging through the mess reached their ears.

“So the workshop's on the next floor up, right?” Nina asked.

“Yeah,” Shauna replied. “It's actually quite big, and if it weren't for the circumstances, I'd honestly be impressed. I mean, I was able to fix Cammy with the stuff there.”

“And there are objects that could have killed Andrew, right?” Nina asked.

“Definitely,” Shauna said as they continued towards the elevator. “You can find anything from hammers to screwdrivers to carving knives.”

“Ouch,” Nina remarked.

“And that's not even going into the machinery,” Shauna added. “It's a deathtrap if you're not careful.”

They reached the elevator, and Nina pressed the button. A few moments later, the door opened, and the two girls stepped inside. Shauna pressed the button for the correct floor, and the elevator ascended rapidly, eventually opening up to the hallway containing the workshop. As they stepped out, Nina took it in: it was a lot thinner than the art hallway, and the lighting was used more sparingly: it had an almost eerie quality to it.

“It's a little creepy,” Nina said, voicing her thoughts.

“If it helps, I'd imagine it'd be a lot more cheerful with the windows not being sealed,” Shauna responded.

“Wait,” Nina said. “Didn't Monobear say that he'd unlock the school building after the trial?”

“Oh yeah,” Shauna said.

“Hopefully by tomorrow we'll see the sun again,” Nina said hopefully.”

“Just too bad we'll be another person short by then.”

Both girls looked ahead to see Dirk walking down the hallway towards them. He was holding his PDA, seeming to scroll through it.

“Dirk?” Shauna asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Investigating,” Dirk replied evenly. “You?”

“The same thing,” Nina said.

“I guess that's because one of our friends is laying dead downstairs at the hands of someone still breathing,” Dirk said.

“No need to put it so lightly,” Nina said uncomfortably.

“If you get worked up about it, then you won't think straight,” Dirk said. “And that might end up costing us our lives. Keep in mind that you don't have to grieve immediately after a death.” He walked past them, leaving a heavy feeling in the air. “Oh, and by the way, the ElectroIDs have cameras; use them to take pictures of evidence. See you at the trial.” He then entered the elevator, and left Shauna and Nina standing alone in the hallway.

“Gee,” Nina said. “What's with him?”

“He's just trying to discover the culprit as efficiently as possible,” Shauna said. “Let him be.”

“I suppose,” Nina said with a sigh. “Anyway, let's get to the workshop.”

They continued down the hallway, eventually stopping outside a pair of wooden double doors.

“This is it,” Shauna said. “Let's go in.” She walked up to the doors, and pushed them open, stepping inside. Nina cautiously followed, taking in the wood workshop.

Shauna was right: the room was huge. It could probably rival the meeting hall in terms of size, and was filled with tables and machines. Cupboards lined the walls, some half-open: Nina spotted a saw inside one. “Whoa,” she said aloud.

“An appropriate reaction,” Shauna mused in response. She glanced over to one of the tables; Nina followed her gaze to find Cammy half propped up against the wall in a puddle of black paint. The puppet eerily resembled Andrew's corpse. Nina didn't dwell on this thought for long. “At least the place is still in one piece.”

“Then maybe that's a sign that the culprit didn't come in here,” Nina offered.

“It's likely,” Shauna said with a sigh. “I was really hoping we'd find something in here, though. Perhaps we should head back and help Ben and Ella with the art studio.” Without another word, Shauna began to head back towards the doorway. Nina hesitated for a moment, taking the room in. She felt uneasy just giving up when there could still be something to be unearthed. But if something was amiss, then Shauna would have picked up on it; she trusted her friend to do that. So Nina turned away from the room, and started to walk towards the door. But she barely made it four paces before seeing something laying on the ground. Instantly Nina's blood ran cold.

It was a cutting of an electrical wire maybe four inches long; the rubber coating had been removed enough for the metallic ends to stick out. Nina reached down and picked it up, finding that a black residue was left on her hand where the wire had touched it. She surveyed it, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. But a nagging feeling ate away at her as she looked at it, as if this wire was the key to solving a mystery Nina didn't know about.

Hoping that the smarter ETLs could make sense of it, Nina took a few photos, and set the wire back on the floor as Shauna walked back in.

“Nina? What's taking you?” she asked. “We don't have much time until the trial and we need to try and discover something before time's up.”

“Actually, I just found something,” Nina said.

“Huh?” Shauna replied, lifting her eyebrows in surprise. “What?”

“A piece of wire,” Nina explained. “It's short, but has some kind of black substance on it.”

“Did you take a picture of it?” Shauna asked.

“Yes,” Nina replied. “I'm hoping someone like Marian or Dirk can make sense of it.”

“Wait a sec,” Shauna said. “Dirk just said he was in here, but he never mentioned anything about evidence. Doesn't that strike you as odd?”

“What do you mean?” Nina asked.

“Nothing,” Shauna replied. “Let's save it for the trial. Ben and Ella still need our help.”

-

Wyatt looked over at Naomi, who was still crying into Chelsea. She had been shaken horribly after Andrew's death, and normally he would be courteous and patient enough to allow her time to recover, but Wyatt was all too aware of the clock ticking down towards the school trial that would decide their fates. Desperate for any information, he gently took Naomi's hand.

“Naomi,” he began. “We need to find out as much as we can to solve this case, so could you please try and hold it together long enough for us to gather information?”

Chelsea scoffed. “So much for tact,” she said.

“We're on a time limit,” Wyatt reasoned.

“I know,” Chelsea sighed. She tentatively lifted Naomi's face so their eyes met. “Naomi, it's what Andrew would have wanted. You could really help us get that bit closer to finding out who's responsible.”

“But... he...” Naomi wept. “I was fifty feet away from him when... oh my God... I should have...”

“What's done is done,” Wyatt said, soft yet firm. “Now, Naomi, do you recall anything strange last night after the dance?”

“No!” Naomi cried out, raising her arms. “I got drunk like an idiot and passed out! I was useless! It's my fault Andrew's dead!” But Wyatt had stopped listening: he was looking at Naomi's arm.

“How did you get that gash, Naomi?” Chelsea asked, evidently coming to the same conclusion as Wyatt.

“I don't know,” Naomi murmured. “I just woke up with it. Maybe it happened when we fought...”

“No,” Wyatt said. “We would have seen it then. That can only mean that Naomi was injured at some point between us leaving and her waking up at seven.”

“Then do you think the culprit...?” Chelsea thought aloud, looking worried.

“I think Naomi was very lucky,” Wyatt said. He motioned to the ETL Skater's arm. “Look at the injury. Doesn't it look like it would have been inflicted by the same thing that killed Andrew?”

“I don't know much about weapons, but maybe,” Chelsea said. “We'd need to see the weapon to be sure.”

“Then let's hope Shauna's group has success,” Wyatt said glumly.

“Hey, I'm kinda thirsty,” Naomi said suddenly.

“Oh,” Wyatt said. “Would you like a drink?”

“Yes,” Naomi said softly. “I'd like a coffee to clear my head; plus, I don't want to go into the trial as a sobbing mess.”

“Makes sense,” Chelsea said. “Hey Wyatt, if you're going to get drinks, could you get me something as well?”

“Sure,” Wyatt said. “What would you like?”

“A Coke or something,” Chelsea said. “You know, just to give me a buzz.”

“All right,” Wyatt said, leaving his seat. “I'll just be a couple of minutes.” He stood up, and walked across the cafeteria to the kitchen area to prepare the beverages.

Naomi and Chelsea were alone for maybe thirty seconds before Mark burst into the cafeteria, followed by Melissa. Carlos and Charlie made up the rear: Carlos was holding onto Charlie closely.

“Hey guys,” Chelsea greeted. “Wyatt informed me: how's the interview project going?”

“Pretty good if I do say so myself,” Mark said with a grin, holding his camera. “We got Marian's group in the meeting hall and filmed the body which was a little creepy, and we also checked out the art room.”

“Speaking of which, have they found anything?” Chelsea asked.

“No,” Mark replied with a shake of his head. “Someone trashed the place though.”

“To hide evidence?”

“Could be,” Mark said.

“Does anyone seem like a suspect?” Naomi asked.

“Not yet,” Melissa replied. “Everyone seems good.”

“So besides us,” Chelsea began. “Dirk's the only one left, right?”

“Yeah, he's been quite elusive throughout this whole investigation,” Mark said. “Shauna and Nina bumped into him on the way to the workshop, though, and he told them to photograph evidence to make it easier in the trial.”

“That's actually not a bad idea,” Chelsea said. “I have to hand it to him later on.”

“Anyway, we still have to get these alibi videos sorted,” Mark said, setting up the camera. “So let's begin: describe in detail what you did following the end of the dance.”

“Well, I was out cold until the morning announcement,” Naomi said. “I woke at seven, and found...” She stopped to let out a sob. “I found Andrew maybe five minutes later.”

“I headed back to my dorm with Ben, Melissa, and yourself and entered my room at around one,” Chelsea said. “I slept until just before the morning announcement, so around six thirty, to get some dance practice.”

“Really?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,” Chelsea replied. “Just because I had a light hangover and we're in this hell doesn't mean I can let up on my training.”

“Wow,” Mark said. “And then?”

“I showered and joined you guys in the cafeteria for breakfast,” Chelsea said. “You know the rest.”

“Got it,” Mark said, stopping the recording. “Now where's Wyatt?”

“Getting drinks,” Chelsea explained. “He should be here in a moment.”

And sure enough, a minute or so later, Wyatt emerged from the kitchen. Only he wasn't holding any drinks, and his face was as white as a sheet.

“Wyatt?” Melissa asked, seeing his distress. He was holding something in his hands.

“You have to see this,” Wyatt said. He walked up to the table everyone was gathered around, and emptied the contents of his hands onto the surface. There were two objects, but everyone was focused on the first.

“It's a b-bloody knife...” Charlie whimpered in terror, staring at the bladed weapon caked in red.

“I found them in one of the drawers near the back where the vending machine is,” Wyatt said as Mark turned the camera on, filming this.

“I think we just found the murder weapon,” Chelsea said incredulously.

“But what about that other thing?” Carlos said, pointing to the second item. It was a screwdriver, with the end bent at an almost ninety degree angle.

“I have no idea,” Mark said. He continued to record it.

“Wait a moment,” Carlos said. “The murder happened during Night Time. That means that the culprit hid the evidence this morning.”

“Oh my God,” Chelsea said. “Who?”

“I don't know,” Mark said. “We'll have to double check with everyone and find Dirk. We need his side of the story—”

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! Time is up for the investigation period! Now for the real fun to begin! Make your way to the courtroom on the fourth floor so that we can get the school trial started! Upupu~”_

The seven students all looked at each other in shock and dismay.

“Already?” Mark exclaimed. “But we didn't finish investigating!”

“We'll just have to get the answers in the trial,” Melissa said. “We shouldn't keep Monobear waiting: let's take the evidence and go.”

Wyatt carried the screwdriver and knife as they all left the cafeteria, and headed to the hallway. Each group eventually met up on the staircases, and eventually everyone was gathered in front of the large set of double doors that led to the courtroom.

“Hey wait a sec!” Monobear suddenly sprang up, surprising the group of students. “Someone's still missing!”

“What?” Marian replied.

“There should be fifteen people alive, but I only see fourteen students standing here!” Monobear yelled. “We can't start this trial until everyone's here!”

“Jeesh. Don't get your pretty monochromatic panties in a bunch. I'm here.” Everyone turned to face Dirk as he walked coolly down the hallway, joining the group of ETLs.

“And where have you been?” Shauna asked. She was now reunited with Cammy, who had no evidence of the damage sustained by the fall down the stairs.

“Solving a murder,” he replied with a shrug. Ella glanced at him nervously. He gave her a look in return as if to say 'we're really playing the blame game already?'

“Look, what matters is that we're all here and ready to start the trial,” Marian said. “We can only hope Dirk has unearthed some evidence to contribute to this case.”

“Trust me, I have,” he said.

“Care to elaborate?” Shauna asked.

“Not until we're in the trial, at the right time,” Dirk said. “One of you is still a murderer, and I'm not going to give you a heads up on what critical things I have to bring you down.”

“Smart,” John said. “We can't be giving the culprit an advantage, after all.”

“Hey hey hey!” Monobear snapped. “Save the debate until the school trial!”

“Whatever,” Dirk said. “Let's do it.”

“Okie-dokie!” Monobear chirped. He clapped his paws, and the doors swung open, revealing the inside of an elevator. “Step inside, and let's begin!”

“Huh?” Marian said, folding her arms. “What's with the elevator? That wasn't there before.”

“Eh, just some renovations!” Monobear chirped. “Now, you get to take a super-cool elevator down to the courtroom! It's a Mutual Killing tradition!”

“But… how did you manage to do that?” Marian asked.

“Details, details,” Monobear said flippantly. “Now, get your asses in there so we can get this thing started!”

Monobear waddled inside the elevator, and after a few moments of heavy silence, the other students followed suit. Nobody said anything as the elevator doors shut and they began to descend; fear and anticipation were overriding any curiosity anyone felt.

And then, after a few moments, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened, revealing the courtroom at long last.

“This… is not what I saw when I was last here,” Marian said uneasily.

“Well, duh!” Monobear said. “A standard courtroom just wouldn't do for a Mutual Killing school trial – so I got a new one!”

“Let's not argue with the bear right now,” John said. “We should focus on the trial.”

Marian nodded wordlessly, and led the rest of the group out of the elevator, and into the courtroom.

The courtroom itself was a large hall consisting of sixteen pedestals arranged in a circle. Each pedestal had a name engraved on it: the names of the ETL students. On the far wall was a large throne, which Monobear quickly climbed onto. “Take your places!” he called out, but nobody moved. Everyone was looking at the pedestal closest to the ursine creature's throne.

“What... is that?” Chelsea asked, blanching at the sight in front of her. There was a gold signpost with a grey-scale portrait of Andrew on top; it was his ElectroID photo. The portrait had been crossed over with a large red X. He was still smiling casually, reflecting his easygoing nature perfectly. It hit everyone with a stab of remorse.

“We wouldn't want our dearly departed ETL Racer to miss out on all the fun, would we?” Monobear replied.

“That's just sick,” Dirk said venomously.

“Hey! I didn't put that body there! One of you bastards did!” Monobear growled in retaliation. “Now hurry up and take your places!” Without another word, everyone stood at their podiums, looking around at everyone else. The suspicion and tension was palpable in the air: one of these people was a killer. And if they didn't find out who, then they were all dead. “Now, without further ado... let the first school trial commence!”


	9. Turbulent Tribulation

**COURT PREP**

**> Review Evidence:**

**#1 – Monobear File #1**

**The victim is Andrew Cyrus, Enhanced Talent Level Racer.**

**The time of death is 02:08**

**The body was found in the meeting hall.**

**The cause of death is a sliced jugular vein.**

**As well as this, a stab wound to the chest was inflicted prior to the fatal injury.**

**#2 – Ella's Account**

**Both Ella and Shauna were in the workshop repairing Cammy around the time Andrew was murdered.**

**#3 – John's Account**

**According to John, this crime cannot be analysed using his talent – there is no emotional evidence for him to infer.**

**The only potential information is that the culprit took a lot of effort to wield the murder weapon.**

**#4 – Table Cloth**

**There is a long bloodstain on the cloth Naomi used as a blanket last night. The cloth could only have gotten bloody after the dance.**

**#5 – Art Studio**

**The art studio has been completely messed up, likely in an attempt by the culprit to conceal any evidence.**

**#6 – Cammy**

**Cammy was left in the workshop after Ella and Shauna's repairs in a puddle of black paint.**

**#7 – Wire**

**There is a cutting of an electrical wire on the floor in the wood workshop. It is covered in a black residue.**

**#8 – Dirk's Account**

**Dirk stated that there was nothing of note in the workshop, despite evidence pointing to the contrary.**

**#9 – Naomi's Injury**

**Naomi has a long gash on her arm. She does not remember getting it and it was not present during the dance.**

**#10 – Mark's Interviews**

**Mark managed to interview everyone during the investigation for alibis and testimonies, except for Dirk.**

**#11 – Naomi's Account**

**Naomi passed out during the dance and didn't wake up until the morning announcement, where she shortly discovered Andrew's body afterwards.**

**#12 – Bloody Knife**

**Wyatt found a large knife in the kitchen. It is covered in blood.**

**#13 – Screwdriver**

**Wyatt also found a screwdriver with the knife. The end is bent at a ninety degree angle.**

**#14 – Blood Trail**

**Naomi left bloody tracks on the floor after leaving the meeting hall to inform everyone of the dead body.**

**> Finish Prep.**

**SCHOOL TRIAL: START!**

-

“So, let's get this party started!” Monobear cheered from atop his throne, looking down at the fifteen ETL students. “Which of you bastards wanted to get out so badly that they threw our dearly beloved ETL Racer under the bus for it!” He motioned to Andrew's portrait, and feigned misery. “Will you make the right choice, or will a whole bunch of lives be condemned for their incompetence?”

“Oh, I'm confident that we'll come to the right conclusion,” Marian said smoothly, surveying the courtroom. “If only to avenge Andrew and deny you the satisfaction of killing us all.” The others looked at her in awe, impressed by her demeanour. She was just thankful that they didn't know it was a front put on for the sake of the trial.

“So, uh, how do we start this?” Joel asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do we just like throw evidence to Monobear and try and get it right? Or just pick a culprit?”

“That'd be stupid,” Ella said, folding her arms. “If we were to pick right now, then we'd be signing our death warrants.”

“John, Marian,” Mark said. “You two have the most courtroom experience; why don't you start?”

“All right then,” John said, equally as composed as Marian. “Let's begin with the discussion of the crime scene.”

“From what we know of the Monobear File, it is clear that Andrew was killed at just after two in the morning, and received two injuries. And, I think it's safe to deduce that the culprit originally intended for the stab to the chest to kill him.” Marian paused, letting out a sigh, composing herself. “Obviously it didn't work, forcing them to slice his throat in a last-ditch effort to get away with the crime.”

“Then... then that means...” Charlie said, pale. “He must have been in an awful amount of pain before he was finally killed.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Who could have done something like this?”

“Actually, he wouldn't have been suffering for too long,” John pointed out. “With the depth of the chest wound, Andrew would have bled out after a few minutes. But for some reason, the culprit was too hasty to just wait it out. They had to kill him quickly.”

“But why?” Shauna pondered. “It was late, everyone was asleep, and there was nobody to disturb them. It just doesn't make sense.”

“Actually, you're wrong,” Marian countered. “Naomi was in the hall, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Shauna said sheepishly, holding onto Cammy. “Sorry; my mind blanked for a moment.”

“It's fine,” Marian said. “Anyway, back to the main point: with Naomi there, the culprit could have risked having a witness. And with that in mind, she probably stirred, causing them to panic.”

“...That would explain why he was so hastily ended,” Ella said grimly.

“So from there, wouldn't the culprit have attempted to kill Naomi as well?” Melissa asked. “But she's still alive... so maybe they didn't try it?”

“No, they did try,” Marian said. “And there's evidence for it.”

“Evidence?” Ben questioned.

“Yes,” Marian explained. “The gash on Naomi's arm, and the blood-stained tablecloth both prove that Naomi was attacked by someone as well.”

“Hold up,” Ella said. “I don't want to start pointing fingers... but do we know for sure that Naomi didn't attack Andrew, and she received the injury from the struggle?”

A cold silence fell briefly over the courtroom as most eyes faced Naomi with suspicion gleaming in them. She turned pale, and let out a gasp. “Wh-what? You think I...?!” she spluttered in disbelief.

“Hey,” Chelsea said. “You all saw her this morning; she was so distraught. I don't think anyone like that could actually kill someone.”

“It could have been an act,” Ella pointed out. “We've only known her for a few days. How can anyone be sure of her true colours?”

“I didn't!” Naomi cried out pathetically in response.

“You have no proof that says otherwise,” Ella said. “Plus, it's odd: you were in the same room when a murder happened, yet you walk out alive and well, minus a minor wound. I don't want to suspect you, Naomi, but you just seem too suspicious right now.”

“Actually... we do have proof,” John said.

“Do you?” Ella asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes,” John explained. “When Naomi entered the cafeteria, she had left a trail of blood from the body. And if she had killed Andrew, there would be another trail leading to where she had been sleeping.”

“Then maybe she just slept near the body?” Ella offered.

“No. She was in that tablecloth,” Marian said. “Since going by your theory, she received the injury as part of the struggle. If she had stayed near the body, then there wouldn't be a stain.”

“It was a stab in the dark anyway,” Ella said breezily with a shrug. “So this establishes that Naomi couldn't have been the culprit?”

“Unless more evidence proves otherwise, I think it's safe to say so,” Marian said. “You're in the clear for now, Naomi.”

“Thank goodness...” Naomi sighed. “I would never kill anyone anyway!”

“Most people wouldn't, under normal circumstances...” Mark added. “This is hardly a normal situation.”

“But Marian, did your group discover anything at the scene of the crime that could help us get closer to solving the mystery?” Carlos asked.

“Not really,” Marian said. “Except for one thing... John's assessment of the crime.”

“Assessment?” Carlos questioned.

“Oh yeah!” Joel cried out. “John can do the thing where he can step into the shoes of a killer at the crime scene!”

“Empathy is the word you're looking for,” John said, sardonic yet uneasy. “But it'll hardly be of any use.”

“Why not?” Naomi asked. “You used it to catch Sunshine freaking Sally of all people! This can't be any harder than that!”

“You see,” John said. “I can't infer the feelings, because... there's nothing to infer.”

John's words caused the courtroom to descend into a wave of worried whispers. Of course everyone was concerned: John could infer the actions of a serial killer, but not someone in this room. It was unbelievable.

“You... really can't infer anything?” Shauna asked, wide-eyed. “How come?”

“Because there were zero traces of anything that indicated a human presence beside Andrew at the scene,” John explained. “The killer was cold, emotionless... almost robotic. I don't know what we're dealing with here.” Genuine fear was etched onto John's face as he spoke.

“Then... maybe someone here has a personality disorder?” Nina suggested. “You know, like an alternate identity as an emotionless serial killer?”

“Seriously?!” Monobear jeered. “That old shtick? As if!” He huffed, folding his arms. “I've seen that comedy routine enough for one lifetime! You can be certain that is not something I allowed within the walls of this academy!”

“Well, we're getting nowhere fast with this train of discussion,” Marian said, taking over. “Let's move on: Ben, what did your group discover?”

“I think we can say for sure that we did find signs of the culprit's presence,” Ben began. “The entire art studio was a wreck.”

“Oh?” Marian replied.

“Yeah,” Nina confirmed. “Everything had been thrown around everywhere. Paint... brushes... tools... everything.”

“That's interesting,” John said.

“Do you think the culprit did it to hide the murder weapon?” Joel asked.

“We think so,” Ben said with a weary sigh. “Unfortunately, we found nothing in there that could have been used as a murder weapon.”

“Actually... you're wrong,” Shauna said.

“What do you mean?” Marian asked.

“I didn't want to say anything, in case someone in my group was the culprit, but...” she began, reaching into her pocket. Shauna set Cammy down, and revealed a large sculpting knife. The blade was stained a deep crimson. “I found this taped to the underside of the sink.”

“That's...” Joel began. “Is that the murder weapon?”

“I didn't check it against the body, but I think so,” Shauna said solemnly. “Just knowing that I'm holding the instrument that ended Andrew's life... it feels so...” She stopped talking, choking back a sob. “I'm sorry...”

“Well, I guess that solves the mystery of the missing murder weapon,” Ella said.

“Actually, it doesn't,” Wyatt countered. “Because my group _also_ found a bloody knife!”

“What?!” Joel exclaimed as Wyatt produced his weapon. “Then... two of them?!”

“Why two of them?” Nina cried.

“One for each wound...?” Mark pondered.

“Maybe it was extra insurance,” Melissa said. “In case one was lost.”

“Or perhaps one was for Andrew, and the other Naomi,” Chelsea said.

“Then which one is which?” Ella exclaimed. “Surely there has to be some way we can deduce—”

The debate was suddenly interrupted by the sound of slow clapping. Every face turned to Dirk, who was looking smugly at the group of flustered ETLs. “Look at yourselves,” he said, chuckling mirthlessly. “You're running around in circles, yet missing the point entirely.”

“Well, how about you stop being such a wise guy and tell us what we're doing wrong!” Chelsea barked. “You've just been standing there quietly throughout this entire trial, Dirk. What right do you have to act so high and mighty? People's lives are on the line here!”

“Honestly, I'm not participating just yet,” Dirk said. “It's still too early for me to present my evidence; not when there's still so much uncertainty in the air regarding the culprit's identity.” He let out a sigh. “Still, to get this thing moving, I'll tell you all this: you've walked right into a trap concerning the knives. One is a forgery. If you have another piece of evidence, you'll realise which is the right one.” And with that, Dirk stopped talking.

“Well, it's something to go on,” Marian said meekly.

“But another piece of evidence?” Nina enquired. “Wyatt, Shauna: did either of you find anything else suspicious alongside the knives?”

“I didn't think to look, so I only saw the taped knife,” Shauna admitted. “I mean, maybe there was something, but I don't know...”

“Don't worry, I found something,” Wyatt said. He revealed the screwdriver. “This.”

“A screwdriver?” Shauna questioned. “How odd.”

“I don't know what it means either,” Wyatt said. “But it should prove that my knife is the real one, and yours is a forgery.”

“What?” Shauna exclaimed. “So the culprit planted a fake knife?! How and why?!”

“They probably used the paints to do it,” Ben explained. “And for the why, I guess to distract us with the prospect of two weapons instead of one.”

“Even then, after all this, we've only just figured out the murder weapon,” Melissa said grimly. “We still have no idea who did this, or how it happened precisely...”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “She's right! You bastards have been standing here, debating back and forth, and what's your reward? You find out the murder weapon, which is probably the most obvious thing about this case!” He sighed. “Honestly, I had such high hopes for you bastards as well...”

“Wait,” John said. “So you do in fact know all the details of the case?”

“Yup!” Monobear chirped. “Saw the whole thing happen for myself!”

“Then maybe Monobear did it?” Shauna offered, looking down in shame for even suggesting something so outrageous.

“Or more realistically, perhaps the person controlling him,” Ella said. She faced Monobear with a steely look in her eyes. “Since there's no way you can function on your own.”

“Hey!” Monobear growled. “We went through this! I don't need a controller! I'm Monobear!”

“So that's another dead end,” Chelsea said dryly.

“Of course!” Monobear snapped, his red eye glowing ominously. “I'm not gonna solve the mystery for you bastards! Do it on your own!”

“So where do we go from here?” Joel asked, looking nervous.

“I'm not sure,” Marian said. “We've reached our limits with what evidence we've seen so far, and we've made minimal progress.”

“What about the videos?” Chelsea offered.

“The videos?” Shauna asked.

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “Mark's interviews with us concerning last night after the dance. Perhaps a clue's in there?”

“It's worth a shot at least,” Marian said. “So how about it: Mark, could you show us the videos?”

“All right,” Mark said, pulling out his camera. “But the screen's small; without something to project it onto, I don't think everyone can see it.”

“Don't worry about that!” Monobear exclaimed, producing an extension cord. “Just plug this in and it'll play on a big screen!”

Mark cautiously took the cable, plugging it into the camera. “Uh, okay then...” he said. The moment the camera was plugged in, a large flat screen appeared on the far wall of the courtroom. Everyone glanced over as the camera's menu was blown up on a seventy-five inch screen. Mark selected a file titled 'Alibi Interviews'. “It'll play in a few moments.”

“We'll be watching for any contradictions,” Marian said. “Mark, you're okay with pausing it if one of us sees anything, aren't you?”  
“I'm fine with it,” Mark said.

“So let's begin,” Shauna stated.

Silence fell over the courtroom as the film began to play, fading from black to a shot of an uneasy-looking Melissa.

“So, Melissa,” Mark's voice said. “Could you please tell us in detail exactly what happened between you leaving the dance and discovering Andrew's body?”

“All right,” Melissa said. “I joined the group consisting of you, Ben, and Chelsea at around one; I reached my dorm room maybe fifteen minutes later. After that, I locked up and fell asleep until the morning announcement. Following from there, I showered and dressed myself, before making my way to the cafeteria. I arrived at seven fifteen, and joined you and Dirk in the cafeteria. Ella and Shauna joined us, and we talked until Naomi announced Andrew's death.”

“Okay then,” Mark said. “Thank you, Melissa.” Marian looked over at Melissa, and lightly shook her head. The ETL Novelist didn't seem suspicious at all. Plus, she had a solid alibi until a half hour before the murder took place.

The camera cut to a shot of Mark this time. The footage was less steady; the person holding the camera clearly lacked the experience Mark did.

“Uh, how did the question go?” Melissa's voice was heard, betraying her as the person behind the camera. “Mark, could you tell us in detail your actions between leaving the dance and the body discovery?”

“Close enough,” Mark said with a wan smile. “Anyway, I grouped up with you, Chelsea, and Ben at roughly one in the morning. From there, it took us maybe fifteen minutes to reach the dorms. I stayed up for a further twenty minutes or so to upload the footage of the dance onto my computer for editing the next day, and eventually fell asleep at around two. I woke just before the announcement, got ready, and headed to the cafeteria for around seven oh five. I sat with Dirk, and then you arrived, followed by Ella and Shauna. We spoke for a while, and then Naomi broke the news to us.” Yet again, Mark seemed good. Marian glanced at John; hopefully he could read them. But his face was stoic as he studied the film.

The film cut to Carlos; the camera quality picked up once more. The ETL Blogger seemed composed, but weary.

“Carlos,” Mark said. “Do you mind telling us what you did after leaving the dance?”

“All right,” Carlos said. “I left at one with Charlie, Nina, and Wyatt. We reached our dorms twenty or so minutes later; I walked Charlie to her door to make her feel safe. She wanted me to stay for a while to calm her down, so I did. I got into my room at around two thirty, and woke with the announcement. I dressed and showered, and headed to the cafeteria for maybe seven twenty. I sat with Charlie, and then Naomi came in... you know the rest.” Carlos checked out as well; he had an alibi for the entire time frame the murder happened in.

The next interview began to roll, showing Charlie looking pale and terrified. But before the footage could continue, the sound cut out, and the picture jumped to a shot of Joel, then Ben, then Andrew's body, then Ella, then Shauna, then Chelsea, before the screen blacked out.

“H-huh?” Mark exclaimed. “What was that?!” He glared at the throne. “Monobear, what did you do?! That was valuable evidence!”

“Hey!” Monobear snapped. “Don't blame me! If you have a beef with the lack of theatre, take it up with Mr ETL Hacker!”

“Hacker... then...” Mark said, turning around slowly, his face pale. “Dirk? You cut the film?”

Dirk remained silent, looking at his PDA idly. He seemed to be oblivious to the situation.

“Dirk, Mark asked a question,” Chelsea said with fury. “So answer it! Don't be an asshole!”

“Why did you cut the film?” Shauna asked, holding Cammy again. “There was no reason to do it! It could have helped us reveal Andrew's killer and get out of here!”

“That was a stupid thing to do,” Wyatt said. “All you did was destroy evidence with no reason behind it, hindering the trial's progress further.”

“...Actually, I can think of a reason why he did it...” Nina said. “Dirk might have done it... because, well... because he wanted to hide something. And there's only one reason why anyone would do that...” A look of pure horror crossed Nina's face. “And that's because Dirk is the killer.”

A heavy atmosphere of distrust and despair hit the courtroom like a wrecking ball. Everyone looked at the silent Dirk, disbelief on their faces. Could he really have done it?

“No...” Naomi breathed. “No way...”

“So how about it, Dirk?” Marian said, dread pooling in her stomach as she looked at Dirk. She had to remain unbiased; it was the only way to get to the bottom of this. Then why was this so hard? “Do you have a reason as to why you just did that?” Dirk finally looked up from his PDA, and gave Marian a thin, wry smile.

“No,” Dirk said. “I don't have a reason for doing that.”

“You... what?” Marian said in disbelief. She was speechless. “This doesn't make sense... I don't know what to think.”

“I'm pretty sure you do,” Dirk said evenly. “It's the same as everyone: I'm the killer, and I hacked the footage as a last-ditch effort to protect myself out of panic. Correct?”

“Well...” Marian said.

“I knew it,” Dirk said. He shrugged. “I don't blame you for it; I'd have come to a similar conclusion.”

“How can you just be so calm?!” Chelsea exclaimed. “You're the most suspicious one here right now, yet you're aloof as hell! What's going on?!”  
“Simple,” Dirk said. “The killer has to be exposed, right? And that's what I did.”

“Wait... so...” Shauna said, trembling. “You're admitting to the crime?”

“So we vote, right?” Joel said. “We have to, don't we?”

“There's no more evidence...” Ella said. “It seems that we have no choice.” She let out a deflated sigh. “I can't believe it...”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “So that's the conclusion you're coming to? That Dirk here killed Andrew, planted two knives to throw you off the scent, and then messed with the footage to hide his interview to avoid further incrimination, which also doubled as an admission of guilt?”

“That sounds about right...” Nina said glumly.

“All righty then!” Monobear chirped. “If that's what you believe, then use the 'Vote' section of your ElectroIDs to vote for the culprit! Will you be right, or wrong? Upupu~”

“Hold it!” Marian suddenly exclaimed. “I have an objection!”

“Huwah?” Monobear said, tilting his head curiously. “An objection?”

“Yes,” Marian said. “I don't believe we have all the facts yet to confidently claim that Dirk is the culprit. Something isn't adding up here.”

“What?!” Chelsea exclaimed. “He admitted to it! What more proof do you need?!”

“He did admit to it,” Marian said, “but can we really vote for him with just that?”

“Of course!” Chelsea retorted. “He even said that messing with the footage was to expose the culprit! Which he clearly did by hiding his own interview! Can you really say I'm wrong?!”

“Well, uh,” Marian said, faltering. She had no concrete evidence to say for sure that didn't happen.

“Exactly!” Chelsea said. “Without further proof, everything points to Dirk! So that's where my vote is going!”

“Wait!” Mark suddenly cried out. “I just realised what's not adding up here!”

“Mark?” Marian said. “You realised something?”

“Yes!” Mark exclaimed. “It would make zero sense for Dirk to hack the footage to cover his tracks!”

“And why is that?” Marian asked.

“Because,” Mark began. “I never interviewed him!”

“You didn't?” Shauna questioned.

“Plus, he said his goal of messing with the film was to expose the culprit,” Mark continued, blazing with determination. “At no point did Dirk directly admit that he was exposing himself!”

“But how can you be sure about that?” Joel asked. “We still don't know if Dirk was feeling guilty and wanted to end the trial! That could have still been the reason!”

“No,” Mark said. “It's not just that. Other things don't add up either.”

“Don't they?” Melissa asked.

“They don't,” Mark said. “For one thing, we still don't have an explanation for the screwdriver Wyatt found with the knife. If Dirk really attacked Andrew with the knife, then why was there a screwdriver with the murder weapon? I don't know why, but I feel we're missing something huge. And until we uncover that, we won't know for sure that Dirk is the killer!”

“Oh my,” Monobear said. “So you're changing your minds? Are you holding off on the voting for a little while longer?”

“Yes, I believe that's the best thing to do,” Mark said.

“I have to agree with him,” John said. “There are clearly some mysteries left to uncover.”

“I agree as well,” Marian said. “I don't think this case is as clear-cut as we're being led to believe.”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “Now the real question is this! Do you still believe that Dirk is the killer?”

“No,” Marian said confidently. “I know Dirk: if he was the killer, he wouldn't do something so obvious as expose himself so blatantly. He's smarter than that.”

“Plus, his demeanour is all off,” John said. “Now that I look at it, everything Dirk's done has been a gambit to throw the culprit off; no doubt his 'admission' had the goal of confusing them.”

“So Dirk,” Marian said. “Is this true?”

“Obviously,” Dirk said nonchalantly. “You'd have to have a week-old lettuce for a brain to think I'd be as stupid as to buy into Monobear's jacked-up game. So to clarify, I didn't kill Andrew. But my act did achieve its goal; a few of you began to act real suspiciously when I started acting guilty. It wasn't much, but I've narrowed the suspect pool down.”

“And I take it you're keeping quiet about it?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “It's all well and good pointing out suspicious individuals, but we can't say for sure until we have every detail of this case worked out. Since last I remember, all we accomplished was finding a knife and a screwdriver.”

“Okay then, Dirk,” Ella said. “So what do you suggest we do from here? Do you have any evidence to bring forward?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Dirk said. “I can't make much of it myself, so I feel it's best if we all see it.” He looked at Mark. “Mark, mind if you disconnect your camera?”

“All right,” Mark said. “Now can I ask why?”

“I've got some footage of my own to share with the class,” Dirk said sardonically. He tapped something onto his PDA, and the large screen flickered to life.

Every eye was once again turned to the screen as it displayed the meeting hall. There was a time stamp in the corner, reading 'WEDS 02:02'. On the far left side of the screen, Naomi's sleeping form could be seen, and on the right was Andrew, eating at something, glancing occasionally at Naomi. Everyone's hearts dropped as they realised they were watching Andrew's last moments.

“How did you get this?” Nina asked breathlessly, her hand flying to cover her mouth in horror.

“Hacked the surveillance footage,” Dirk said. “Took around a half hour.”

“Hey! I'm pretty sure that's breaking a rule!” Monobear growled. “I should punish you for this!”

“On what grounds?” Dirk asked. “The rules state the _destruction_ of surveillance equipment is prohibited, not interfering with them. Therefore, I've done nothing wrong.”

“You know,” Monobear said. “When I see you bastards exploit loopholes in my rules, it makes me wanna bulldoze a penguin sanctuary out of sheer rage!”

“Whatever,” Dirk said. He looked back at the screen as the lights turned out, plunging the footage into darkness.

“H-huh?” Andrew's voice suddenly reached everyone, the screen still not betraying his final moments alive. “Someone there? Naomi, is that you?”

“I can't watch this...” Naomi sobbed, burying her face in her hands. On-screen, the sound of the doors to the hall opening sounded out.

“This is awful...” Charlie said, tears in her eyes.

“Hello?” Andrew once again spoke. In the background, there was the sound of light footsteps. “Who is it?” More sounds: the footsteps, and Andrew moving. The footsteps grew faster, and then there was a brief grunt of pain, followed by the sound of something crashing to the floor. After another minute or so, the footsteps moved away. The time read 02:08. Andrew was dead. But before the footage truly cut out, a truly chilling sound reached the ears of every last surviving ETL student.

“Pupupu~”

Monobear's trademark giggle.

This mystery had just gotten even more complex.


	10. Stalemate

“That laugh...” Melissa said, paling. “That was Monobear, right?”

“It sounded like it...” Charlie added.

“So then...” Shauna began. “What does this mean?”

“I suppose it means that maybe Monobear is more involved than we first thought,” John said curiously, looking at Monobear. “Care to explain why your voice is heard during Andrew's murder?”

“I don't have to explain anything to you bastards!” Monobear roared.

“You sure do seem suspicious right now...” Chelsea said.

“Plus, it'd be a shame to end the game right now because you're behaving like a spoiled child,” Dirk said. “If it weren't for the situation, I'd be laughing my ass off at your stupidity right now.”

“Upupu~” Monobear suddenly giggled. “Upupu... bwahaha! This is priceless!”

“Priceless?” Mark asked.

“Yep!” Monobear chortled. “From the looks of it, you bastards suspect _me_ as the killer!”

“Well, we have good reason to,” Ella said evenly. “You trapped us in this school, and came up with the game in the first place. Plus, you seemed awfully happy when we found Andrew; is it really out there to suggest that you maybe got bored and killed him just to kick-start the School Life of Mutual Killing?”

“She has a point...” Shauna said. “Maybe you did do it?”

“Isn't that odd, though?” Naomi suggested. “Since, you know, if you're caught as the killer... you get executed.”

“Then maybe that means that if we can prove Monobear's guilt, he'll kill himself and we'll be set free?” Joel pondered.

“Ahahahaha! This is too much!” Monobear howled. “I never thought you bastards were the brightest bunch, but to assume I killed someone? How stupid can you get?!”

“Evidently not that much,” Ella said. “And since you can pop up wherever, it would hardly be a challenge to move the evidence, even for you.”

“But I'm a good bear that adheres to regulations!” Monobear snapped. “I wouldn't dream of entering the cafeteria during Night Time, so explain that!”

“Your moral philosophy hardly holds any ground,” Ella argued. “How do we know you didn't modify the rule during the time of the murder? That way, everything you did would have been perfectly legal.”

“You're one to talk!” Monobear accused. “You're hardly squeaky clean yourself!”

“...What?” Ella gasped. “What do you mean?”

“Staying out past Night Time, wandering the halls until three...” Monobear listed. “And that's not even mentioning wasting a golden opportunity to murder Miss ETL Toy Maker!”

“What?!” Shauna screeched. “She would never! We're friends!”

“Upupu...” Monobear giggled. “See? How do you like it when _I_ throw accusations at _you_?!”

“Fine, whatever,” Ella said. “So can you just explain why you were laughing in the same room that Andrew died in?”

“Nope!” Monobear replied. “You do it!”

“But...” Ella faltered. “We don't have any evidence for or against your involvement. Since obviously, you wouldn't leave anything behind for us to uncover, right?”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “Upupu~”

“Just give us an answer!” Ella finally snapped, breaking her composure. “We're out of evidence, so fill us in, damn it!”

“Wait a sec!” Nina called out urgently. “I actually have some evidence!”

“You do?” Marian asked. “Why didn't you tell us earlier?”

“Because I wasn't sure if it was anything or not,” Nina admitted sheepishly. “But now I think it might have something to do with the case!”

“What is this evidence?” Melissa asked.

“I found it in the wood workshop,” Nina began.

“The workshop?” Shauna asked.

“Yeah. After you went to the art room, I noticed something on the floor,” Nina explained. “It was a cutting of wire coated in a black residue.”

“What kind of residue?” Marian questioned.

“I'll show you,” Nina said, lifting her hands. Her palms were streaked with black smudges.

“That looks like acrylic paint,” Ben said. “And you found it on the floor in the wood workshop?”

“Yeah. It was next to a table,” Nina said. “I have pictures, if it helps.”

“It does,” Dirk said. “Gimme a sec and I'll transfer them to everyone's ElectroIDs.” He began to tap the screen of his PDA a few times, as if he was typing something, then hit another button. “I hope you don't mind your entire album being broadcast to everyone in the room.”

“It's fine,” Nina said. “I didn't even know about the camera function until you told us in the hallway.”

“All right then,” Dirk said. He touched the screen once more. A few moments later, everyone's ElectroIDs pinged. “You've all got the pictures.”

“Okay, but what are we looking for?” Carlos asked. “It's a painted wire; I'm not seeing much more.”

“I'm lost as well,” Marian said. “Dirk? You see anything?”

“Hmm...” Dirk said, staring intently at the image. “There's something about it, but I'm not sure.”

“Wait,” Mark said. His face was full of dread and recognition. “I think I know what kind of wire this is.”

“You do?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I've seen it quite a few times.”

“So then spit it out!” Chelsea exclaimed. “What is it?!”

“It's, well...” Mark said, hesitating. He took a deep breath, and looked forward. “I think it's a speaker wire.”

A silence took hold as the students tried to process this information. Nobody had confirmed anything, but there was a definite sense of unease in the air. It was as if some horrible revelation was on the tip of everyone's tongue, but they weren't aware of it.

“Hey, Mark,” Dirk said, breaking the silence. “Tell us more about the wire.”

“Don't take my word for the absolute truth,” Mark said. “But I think it's the kind of wire used to connect a microphone to a speaker set, or a sound system. I've seen it in karaoke bars and with my personal reporting equipment.”

“That's odd,” Melissa said. “But what significance does it have with the case?”

“Wouldn't Ella know?” Charlie suggested. “She is the ETL Sound Engineer, after all.”

“How about it, Ella?” Dirk asked. “Does this wire mean anything?”

“Well,” Ella said uneasily. “The strength of the cable could make for an efficient way to hang someone, and that durability would allow for high volumes to translate easily. This is the kind of stuff you'd see at music concerts; why's it here?”

“I don't see why you're so surprised,” Dirk said. “I remember seeing this type of cable with the supplies you found when we were setting up the sound system for the dance.”

“Oh yeah,” Ella said. “That's where I recognised it from.”

“Dirk, can I ask you something?” Marian suddenly said.

“What?” Dirk asked.

“It's about the wire,” Marian said. “Look at it: the end's frayed, as if someone hastily cut it off. Do you remember seeing anything wrong with the wire when setting it up?”

“No,” Dirk said. “Everything was okay.”

“Then I'm wondering how this piece of wire got to the workshop,” Marian explained. “If all the wire was fine for the sound system, then how come there's a piece?”

“Maybe the culprit took another bunch of wire?” Shauna asked.

“But Shauna,” Marian said. “You yourself said that you and Ella took everything from the store cupboard to get the sound system working.”

“I can confirm that,” Dirk said. “I checked the place out during the investigation: empty.”

“So then where did that wire come from?” Marian asked.

“I don't know,” Shauna said, her eyes wide. “Maybe there was another piece of wire that the culprit took before we found the place?”

“Then that would place the time-frame for the premeditation of the murder to be at least the day before the dance,” Melissa pointed out. “For that to be true, that would mean that the culprit had essentially been planning this since the moment Monobear took over.”

“Who would do that?” Wyatt asked. “Who would be so cold as to plan the death of Andrew the instant things turned south?”

“I'm not sure,” Marian said. “But I think that wire has something to do with it.”

“But what?” Charlie asked. “Who could think to kill Andrew using a wire?”

“...What if the wire's only part of it?” Everyone turned to face Mark, who spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Melissa asked.

“I mean, what if the wire was used with something else to kill him?” Mark said shakily.

“Where are you going with this, Mark?” Dirk asked.

“I don't know,” Mark said. “I just kept thinking about the screwdriver, and I'm wondering if they are in fact connected somehow.”

“But how can a wire and a screwdriver be used together to kill someone?” Shauna said. “It doesn't make sense.”

“Perhaps not as individual weapons,” John said. “But, what if they were used for something else?”

“What like?” Marian asked.

“I'm thinking that maybe the wire and screwdriver were used to build something related to the murder,” John explained. “That would explain why they've been both found in suspicious circumstances.”

“Then what could the culprit build to use in the murder using those two things?” Carlos suggested. “Surely there has to be more to it.”

“I don't doubt it,” Marian said.

“Then maybe that explains the wrecked art studio?” Ben offered. “Maybe it wasn't related to the weapon, but was instead done to obscure the fact that supplies had been stolen.”

“If only we'd thought of that sooner,” Ella said. “We could have looked for evidence of that when looking for the murder weapon.”

“There's not much we can do about it now,” Ben reassured.

“I just thought of something,” Nina spoke up. “What if the paint on the wire was from the art studio?”

“That would make a surprising amount of sense,” Marian said.

“But doesn't that bring up the question of why the stolen paint was in the workshop?” Mark added.

“Oh, I can explain that,” Shauna said. “I borrowed some to fix up Cammy.”

“Then where is it now?” John asked.

“Oh, it's in one of the store cupboards,” Shauna said. “I didn't think to check though, since the workshop looked exactly as it had done when I left it.”

“Then perhaps the culprit stole it from there?” Carlos suggested. “Since Shauna didn't need a wire when fixing Cammy, it wouldn't make sense for that to be connected to her.”

“Shauna,” Dirk said coldly.

“Yes?” Shauna replied.

“I find it odd how you say it was in a cupboard,” Dirk said. “When I found an empty tub of black paint in the trash during the investigation.”

“You did?” Shauna asked. “Strange. It was definitely in the cupboard when I left the workshop.”

“Something else doesn't make sense either,” Dirk said.

“Huh?” Shauna remarked.

“We surmised that the paint was used to construct something related to the murder,” Dirk explained. “So it's strange that the paint would be stolen _after_ Andrew was killed.”

Shauna let out a deflated sigh. “I'm sorry, but I've been lying to you all,” she said softly.

“Shauna?” Ella breathed. “What do you mean?”

“The truth is...” Shauna said. “I wasn't in the workshop the whole time I was up.”

“Then where were you?” Marian asked.

“...The IT room,” Shauna said.

“Might I ask why?” Dirk said.

“Ella wanted an extension cord,” Shauna explained. “Her laptop charger's on the way out, so we thought there would be another one we could take.”

“Odd,” Dirk said. He faced Ella. “Why didn't you look for one when we got your USB drive?”

“I didn't want to take up any more time,” Ella explained calmly. “My plan was to grab it in the morning, but we had nothing better to do whilst waiting for Cammy to dry, so we went there.”

“For how long?” Marian inquired.

“I don't know exactly the time we left the workshop,” Shauna said. “But we returned to Cammy at around two thirty.”

“Wait a moment,” Wyatt said. “So you both were walking around when the murder was going on?”

“We didn't know that!” Shauna exclaimed. “If we had done, we would have stopped him from being killed!” Tears pricked her eyes. “You don't think I feel bad enough knowing that my friend died when we could have done something about it?!”

“We can mourn later,” Dirk said. “What I'm curious about now is how long it took you to fix up your puppet. How long did it take?”

“Around a half hour,” Shauna said.

“So that would mean that from two to two thirty, you both were walking around the halls,” Dirk said. “I'm sorry, but this seems a little suspicious.”

“What?” Shauna remarked. “You're suspecting me and Ella?”

“A little odd to do that,” Ella said. “I mean, there can only be one killer, so why suspect two people?”

“She does have a point,” Joel said.

“I also have to ask something else,” Dirk said. “Doesn't anyone else find it a little strange how it took a whole half hour, within the time-frame for the murder, to find a charger? Especially given that one of the two people checked it out on the first day we were trapped in here?”

“Hold up here,” Ella said, her voice shaky. “You sound awfully like you're pinning this crime on us.”

“We have reason to,” Marian said with a hint of remorse. “Certain things just aren't adding up, and you haven't provided explanations that make sense.”

“And?” Ella retorted. “The footage cut out. How do you not know that someone wasn't lying about what they did last night?”

“That's simple,” John said. “The two of you were in fact out just prior to the murder, and the route to the IT room from the workshop requires moving through the dorms. Yet neither of you have mentioned seeing anyone else at all, when logically, the only time the culprit could have made a move was when you two decided to head out from the workshop.”

“You can't be sure that nobody was out,” Ella said. “They could have moved shortly after we passed through.”

“Yeah, but that's awfully coincidental, isn't it?” Dirk brought up. He raised an eyebrow whilst maintaining a stoic expression.

“But the earlier point still stands,” Shauna said, her eyes wild with distress. “There were two of us, yet only one can graduate. We were together the entire time, which leaves no opportunity for one of us to sneak away. Plus, we were in the IT room. How could either of us have feasibly killed someone in the meeting hall from there?”

“Wait wait wait,” Ella said, panicked. “We still haven't ironed out all the details; how can you so confidently blame us?”

“Because of the traces you left behind,” Dirk said.

“Traces?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “You know how I said I had some critical evidence earlier?”

“Oh yeah,” Joel said. “The footage, right?”

“In part,” Dirk said. “That was what I could confidently put forward. But now...” he projected his PDA onto the screen. “I believe we can make sense of this.”

Instantly, a series of images appeared on the screen. One was of a black smear stain on a white keyboard in the IT room. The computer itself was in sleep mode, but not turned off. The next was of another smear in the kitchen, on the sink. And then, most surprisingly, a photo of Cammy, from behind. The puppet was still in the puddle of paint, except the suit jacket was pulled back to reveal wires feeding through the body, exposed via a screwed-off panel on the back. Some were regular-looking wires, but another few were black cables which left stains on the wooden surface of the toy. The same type of wires used for the sound system. There was then a photo of Cammy's face, revealing a camera lens in one of the eyes and a speaker in the mouth. The final photo was that of some kind of antenna coming out of the nape of Cammy's neck.

The effect was instantaneous: gasps, followed by an uneasy silence.

“What... is this?” Charlie whimpered.

“Yeah,” Chelsea reiterated. “What are we looking at?”

“I believe Shauna did a little more than just reattach a limb to our dear friend Cammy,” Dirk said. “I think the puppet's received quite the upgrade.”

Shauna was trembling. “What...” she began. “What possessed you to even look at Cammy?”

“The paint,” Dirk said. “A little odd for a coat of paint applied eight hours prior to be dripping wet as if it had been done in the past couple of hours.”

“Oh yeah,” Ben said. “That paint's fast-drying, too. I can't believe I didn't notice that.”

“And given Shauna's track record for perfectly fixing up toys, I can only think of one explanation for this,” Dirk said grimly. “And that's because Cammy got messy between the paint being applied, and the two girls calling it a night.”

“W-what are you suggesting here, Dirk?” Ella asked, trembling.

“Radio control via computer isn't new,” Dirk said. “All it requires is the right program, and someone of Shauna's calibre to fix up the toy with the right wires.”

“So then, you think...” Nina said. “You think they deployed Cammy to kill Andrew?”

“It'd make sense,” Marian said. “And that would explain why John couldn't get a reading on the crime: because a human didn't directly kill Andrew.”

“And why the USB was in the IT room last night in the first place,” Dirk said. “You were unloading the program onto the computer during the dance, weren't you, Ella?”

“I... why would I...?” Ella began, tripping over her words. Her face was pale.

“This isn't funny,” Shauna said, tears dripping down her face. “Our friend is dead, and you're blaming us? Why?” Her voice was a whisper by the end of the sentence; she clutched Cammy hard.

“This isn't our fault,” Ella said. “How can it ever be our fault when people like Junko Enoshima are responsible for this?”

“...What did you say?” Mark said curiously.

“You filmed it,” Ella said. “You know what I'm on about. She's the mastermind of this whole thing; maybe she's running this as well. Maybe she's just doing it all to see us despair. That video made me realise that.” She was visibly trembling by now. “Ever since then, I've realised how awful the situation truly is...”

“So that's it,” Dirk said. “I think I get it now.”

“Get what?” Mark asked.

“The details of this case,” Dirk explained.

“Me too,” Marian added. “What Ella just said was the final piece of the puzzle, right?”

“Right,” Dirk confirmed.

“You're still suspecting us?” Shauna said feebly, crying openly. “How can you? We've proven to you that we're not the ones at fault here.”

“All right then,” Marian said, her face bleak. “To be fair, I'll go over the details of the case again to confirm exactly how the crime happened and who's responsible. That should clear up any doubts here.” She took a deep breath, and addressed the courtroom. “So, this is how it happened...”

“Now, the first thing to be certain of is that this crime was without a doubt premeditated, given the scope of everything,” Marian began. “The culprit began to formulate the plan to kill someone shortly after Dirk played footage of the Despair Event, which hammered home their desperation to get out. So following this, the culprit sought out someone they could trust who they also believed would want to get out – someone who revealed prior to this that they had experience in a hostage situation. The two of them then started to have a discussion which ultimately led to a decision to commit a murder – to take Monobear's offer of escape. And luckily for them, they could easily take supplies and plan out the crime without people noticing too much thanks to everyone being involved in preparing for the dance. They then, whilst preparing the sound system, began to prepare for something else, something far darker. With one of them having skilled knowledge in what to take from the supplies, whilst still allowing for the sound system to work, they took what they needed, and began their own project: modifying Cammy to turn the benign puppet into a murder weapon. They spent the next couple of days making the modifications at every possible opportunity, including setting up the puppet's arm to break and writing a remote control program, and taking the murder weapon from the kitchen, whilst still showing their faces when appropriate to cast away any suspicions that could have been formed.”

“The next phase of their plan involved the dance – instead of enjoying themselves, they kept everyone inside to scope out their victim. Luckily, Monobear spiking the drinks helped them make the decision. The drunk brawl between Naomi and Chelsea allowed for them to mark out Naomi clearly as their target. So, with their victim in sight, they swiftly brought the dance to a close, with the intentions to kill. However, I doubt that Andrew vouching to look after Naomi until she woke was part of their plan, so they had to improvise. The pair then joined up with one of the groups to leave the hall and head back to the dorms. However, instead of just returning, they took a detour to the IT room upstairs to retrieve a USB drive which contained the remote control program. Following this, they put the next part of their plan in motion – 'accidentally' dropping Cammy down the stairs that led to the dorms. In a hurried frenzy, both of them hurried to the workshop to supposedly do some emergency repair surgery on the doll, leaving the rest of their group to head to bed.”

“From there, they remained in the workshop, fixing the arm with a screwdriver that ultimately ended up bent, attaching the knife to him and adding a coat of paint from the art studio in order to appear innocent enough. In their haste, a section of wire was cut out and thrown to the floor, which would later be found in the investigation. This took around thirty minutes, which was enough time for everyone to be within their dorm rooms and/or fast asleep. With this time having elapsed, they took the puppet, and headed up to the IT room to use the computer to commit the murder by controlling him. Using the program, they guided the puppet down to the hall, and entered. Upon noticing that Andrew was in fact still awake, they killed the lights, and under the cover of darkness, they moved Cammy up to Andrew, and used the knife to stab him. However, because of how risky this was, they inflicted a second wound to kill Andrew instantly in order to avoid staying around too long. From there, in order to attempt to confuse us during the investigation, they used a recording of Monobear. This also served to cover any sounds made as they left Andrew. Presumably at this point, Naomi stirred, and, panicking, they delivered a blind slash to her in the dark, their view potentially worsened because of blood on the camera lens, hence why she got away so lightly. After this, they guided Cammy out of the hall, where one of them retrieved him, safe in the knowledge that at least one person had died.”

“Following this, they split up – one went to remove the knife and blood from Cammy, whilst the other went to sabotage the art studio to try and throw off the scent, which included planting a fake knife to be conveniently found during the investigation. However, the true murder weapon was taken from the workshop, along with the screwdriver, safely in the possession of the other person. In the workshop, in order to hide the evidence of the murder, they essentially dumped the entirety of the paint onto Cammy, leaving a large puddle that would still be wet hours later. From here, the two then converged again somewhere, and agreed on heading to bed, satisfied with their work. They woke early, and were the first to arrive in the cafeteria. During this time period, they hid the screwdriver and bloody knife in a drawer, and washed their hands of the paint, but not without leaving a stain. After this, they sat down in the cafeteria and began to eat as everyone arrived, explaining their exhaustion away as an intricate, time-consuming repair job, leaving no room for suspicion that either of them could have possibly committed a murder during this time. And ultimately, only two people would feasibly be able to pull all this off...” Marian concluded, her face weary. “Shauna and Ella, all evidence points to you.”

Everyone fell silent as they digested the details of the case, and who it pointed towards. Shauna and Ella avoided looking at anyone, guilt heavy on their features. Yet every eye was on them, pleading for some kind of explanation.

“Shauna...” Melissa whimpered, crying. “You couldn't have... no...” Finally, she composed herself. “Why?”

“Oh my God,” Wyatt whispered. “Ella, we were talking with Andrew the morning of the dance... and you killed him... I can't believe it...”

“Save the despair-filled mourning,” Dirk said harshly. “We're not quite finished.”

“What do you mean?” Nina asked, her voice trembling.

“These two have still set quite the trap,” Dirk said.

“Oh?” Ben said. “What's that?”

“We've established there are two culprits,” Dirk said. “But the rules state the _sole_ culprit will be punished. So through technicality, we can't punish them.”

“Holy...” Marian whispered, catching herself before she broke her professionalism. “So we're at a stalemate which can go one of two ways. Either none of us can die due to this trick, or because our vote will leave a culprit alive regardless, we'll all be executed.”

“But wouldn't the person that used the computer to kill Andrew be responsible?” Joel offered.

“...Just so you know, we both pushed every button at the same time,” Shauna said, her voice hollow. “There's no way to tell which one of us actually delivered the fatal blow. We ensured it was that way for this reason.”

“No...” Mark said.

“Wah-wah!” Monobear suddenly cried out. “That's a lie!”

“What?” Dirk pressed.

“One of those two did in fact hesitate, and wasn't near the computer when the kill button was pressed!” Monobear chimed.

“Wait...” Marian said. “So there is in fact one culprit?”

“Yes indeedy!” Monobear said. “Now, the question is this: do you know these two well enough to be sure of who it was that chickened out at the last minute? Or will a mass execution be in store?”

“No...” Nina exclaimed. “But there's no way to tell!”

“What if we ask them?” Naomi offered. “Hopefully the innocent one will spill the beans to save their neck?”

“We can't take anything they say for face value,” Marian said. “Even if one of them admits to it, we won't be able to tell if they're telling the truth or not. We are truly at a stalemate.” Ella and Shauna remained silent, their faces downcast.

“Come ooon!” Monobear urged. “Time's ticking away! Ella or Shauna? Which one _didn't_ kill Andrew? You only have a couple of minutes left to vote!”

“John, you can read people, right?” Chelsea said, panicked. “Can't you tell from reading them?!”

“Well... I...” John said, hesitating under the pressure. “That could actually work.”

“Then do it!” Chelsea shrieked. “For God's sake, read them John!”

“O-okay,” John stuttered. He took a deep breath, and gazed intently at the pair of culprits. Nobody dared to breathe as John's mind whirred away, connecting observations in the hopes of discovering which one hesitated at the last moment.

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “You can really taste the despair in the air! So come on: answer my question! Who didn't do it? Who's the innocent party? Can you figure it out? Upupu~”

“John,” Marian urged. “We don't have much time left. Do you have anything yet?”

“Yes, but I'm not entirely sure,” John said uneasily. “I still have some doubt.”

“We don't have the time for that,” Chelsea said. “You're crazy good at this; just tell us who your gut instinct and what little you do have are telling you!”

“Um... okay...” John said. He took a deep breath, unease on his face. “It's... based on my observations... the person who hesitated at the last moment... the one I believe couldn't go through with it... is ultimately...”


	11. Denouement

_Ella stood there, taking it all in. Her face was pale, and the IT room suddenly felt very small. She glanced over at Dirk and Mark, who looked equally as troubled as she did. Her gaze directed to the computer the boys were crowding around, displaying the still image of a girl holding Monobear – Junko Enoshima, as the video and Mark had confirmed._

_Her insides felt like jelly. This was the person responsible for trapping them inside Sun's Joy. This was the person behind Monobear and the School Life of Mutual Killing. And this person had the power to end the world. The gravity of the situation slapped Ella around the face; it wasn't just the sixteen of them affected. No, by now their homes, their friends, their family... Junko could be destroying them as they stood here, planning a dance._

“ _And here,” Dirk said, breaking Ella out of her horrified daze. He clicked the mouse down, and the image on the screen changed to another thumbnail of Junko, clutching Monobear like Shauna clutched Cammy. Deep down, a part of Ella acknowledged that she would never look at that puppet in the same way again. “Just let me press play, and – God damn it! What the hell?!” A bluescreen error had replaced the horrific thumbnail, accompanied by a faint electronic bleeping. The error must have stayed for at least two minutes before the screen went black._

_Subconsciously. Ella looked up at the camera on the ceiling, feeling more watched than ever. Had Monobear, or more accurately, Junko, seen what they were doing, and broke the computer to hide the evidence? Suddenly this place felt even more like hell. She looked at Dirk and Mark, who seemed more perplexed than anything._

“ _Whoops! I guess I didn't iron out all these problems before letting you bastards loose! Oh well!” Ella looked behind her to see Monobear standing there, looking curiously at the three of them. A sudden sense of sheer panic filled Ella, to the point where it threatened to burst out of her body in a scream of terror. Every second spent looking at the creature made her want to just run for it more and more._

“ _G-get away from us!” she shrieked, terror pounding through her veins as she instinctively backed up against the nearest table. Her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at the monstrous bear. “You... you gremlin!”_

“ _What's with all the insults?” Monobear said with a sigh, lowering his head. “I'm nothing but a benevolent headmaster! I'm not even forcing you to kill against your will!”_

“ _Benevolent my ass,” Dirk retorted sharply. “You shut down this computer to stop us seeing the footage, didn't you?”_

“ _Accusations flying everywhere!” Monobear fumed, causing Ella to flinch. She felt like a cornered animal. “Why would I do such a thing?”_

“ _Don't insult our intelligence,” Dirk said coldly, a quiet rage burning behind his eyes. “You didn't want us seeing any more footage of the Despair event. Admit it.”_

“ _Okay, okay!” Monobear snapped. His red eye began to glow, causing Ella to let out an involuntary gasp. He turned to face Mark, moving even closer to the ETL Reporter. “I admit it! And if you show it ever again, you will be executed!”_

_Mark shrunk in his seat, his face pale and his eyes wide. “S-sorry,” he whimpered, obviously terrified. “But I didn't even play it!” Monobear looked ready to just rip open Mark's throat when Dirk took a step towards the bear, remaining as impassive as possible._

“ _Don't hurt him,” he said. “I accessed his private files.”_

_The effect was instantaneous. Monobear moved away from Mark, and approached Dirk, still steaming with fury. “And why would you do that?!” he growled. Dirk remained silent as Monobear continued to approach him. Mark was still stunned, and Ella watched with a growing anxiety. She had to do something or Monobear might actually kill someone._

“ _Let me explain,” she said, battling to keep her voice as steady as possible. “We're throwing a dance tomorrow, and I'm compiling a playlist of everyone's favourite songs.”_

“ _Eh, how boring,” Monobear said. He faced her, causing her heart to skip a beat. “I was expecting something more fun! Like a firing squad!”_

“ _That's not very fun...” Mark whimpered._

“ _Your tastes just aren't very refined!” Monobear retorted. Yet again, the bear was growing irate. Ella swallowed her fear, and prepared herself to speak._

“ _Anyway, that's why we're looting through everyone's files,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.” Inside, her stomach was doing somersaults. The person behind this could be destroying everything she held dear whilst whimsically tormenting them._

“ _If you say so...” Monobear said, but Ella caught a hint of scepticism in his tone. “And in fact, I can't wait to see you all at the dance! I wonder who'll dance with Monobear...? Just thinking about it gets me all sweaty!”_

“ _That's repulsive,” Dirk said, not even trying to hide his disgust._

“ _Shut up,” Monobear replied. “Anyway, I'll see you bastards around. Have fun with the School Life of Mutual Killing! Upupu!” And then, as suddenly as he had arrived, Monobear was gone._

_The three of them stood in silence for a few moments, occasionally glancing at the shut-down computer._

“ _Damn it,” Dirk finally said. He looked over at Ella. “Sorry Ella, but I guess I can't show you.”_

“ _It's fine,” she replied, desperately trying to cover her distress. “That thumbnail was more than enough for me to see, anyway.” She didn't mention that she wasn't sure she'd be able to stomach an entire video._

“ _Anyway,” Mark said, the most upbeat sounding member of the group. “I don't think Monobear wants us talking about that any more.”_

“ _I'm okay with that,” Ella said, far too quickly to be calm. “Now if you don't mind, I'm going to continue to create the playlist.”_

_Without another word, Ella returned to her computer, easing herself into the seat. But for the next few moments, she couldn't do anything but stare at the screen, and try and control her trembling. And despite her best efforts, one thought resounded in her mind: she had to get out of here._

-

“ _Man,” Joel said, a displeased expression on his face. “That bear is a real piece of work, huh?”_

“ _Tell me about it,” Shauna said, rolling her eyes. Cammy was resting comfortably in her arms: despite her outward confidence, Cammy was her emotional crutch in this situation. Without him, she feared she would fall apart. She squeezed the puppet a little tighter. Her thoughts then skipped to the future. “I just hope he doesn't ruin this dance.” Everything was riding on the dance. It was the only thing Shauna could come up with to suffice as a distraction to this killing game. And if it went wrong... she didn't dare think of what could happen._

“ _I don't think he will,” Andrew brought up, folding his arms. “It provides too perfect a scenario for a murder motive.” That was another thing that worried Shauna. In the distraction of the dance, how easy would it be for someone to sneak off with someone else and kill? That wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen._

“ _Don't talk like that!” Naomi exclaimed, sounding panicked. “You'll just bring bad luck!”_

“ _I wouldn't worry,” Andrew replied evenly. “None of us are stupid enough to actually commit a murder.” Shauna breathed out a sigh of relief; Monobear had riled her up for nothing. Her friends wouldn't be so awful as to. She just had to have faith._

“ _Yeah,” she said with confidence. “And as long as I'm here, nobody will die!” It was a bold claim, but one she had faith in._

“ _That's a little over-confident, isn't it?” Joel said._

“ _Not really,” she replied with a thin smile. “_ _There are only sixteen of us, and if we're all at this dance, then nobody can commit a murder without being caught.” Her smile grew. “That, and, I'm pretty sure we're all good people who wouldn't dream of killing.” That was the thought she held on to. They were all good people._

“ _Hopefully,” Andrew said, but Shauna detected hints of doubt in his tone. She was about to reply when another noise caught her attention._

_Shauna looked over to the far side of the hall as the doors opened, revealing an impatient-looking Ella. Her face was flushed, and she was clutching a USB drive closely._

“ _Ella!” Shauna exclaimed, her face lighting up at the prospect of good news. “How's the playlist going?”_

“ _Done,” Ella replied with a faint smile, as composed as ever. “Now it's just a matter of rigging up the speaker system.”_

“ _That's great!” Shauna said, smiling warmly._

“ _I think I saw some speakers upstairs,” Ella said, glancing at the floor occasionally. “Could you possibly come and help me to look?”_

“ _Of course!” Shauna replied. “Do you need anyone else to help carry them?”_

“ _That will be unnecessary,” Ella said, something about her tone distant. “I wouldn't want to hinder the progress here. Besides, we could easily just pick them up tomorrow.”_

“ _All right,” Shauna said with a light shrug, adjusting her grip on Cammy. “I'll help you look.” She then turned to face the others, and flashed a large smile. “I'll see you all later!”_

_Shauna then followed Ella across the hall, and to the doors. Ella held them open as Shauna walked through, and then shut them once they were both in the hallway. Immediately the sound of the others in the hall was replaced with silence. It was slightly jarring._

_“So,” Shauna began as they walked through the hallway. “Where are these speakers?”_

_“In this store cupboard,” Ella explained calmly. “It's a little out of the way, but once you know where it is, it's easy to find.”_

_“Okay then,” Shauna replied. “How good is it all?”_

_“Professional concert quality,” Ella said, a slight spark to her eyes. “I'm really impressed with my find.”_

_“That'll be great for the dance!” Shauna exclaimed._

“ _Yeah,” Ella said as they reached the staircase. “It will.”_

_They remained relatively quiet as they walked down the hallway, stopping just after the end of the dorm rooms, where Shauna spotted a door painted the same colour as the walls. Ella was right: it was hard to find._

“ _It's in here?” she said._

“ _Yeah,” Ella replied. She opened the door. “Now, come on in.”_

“ _Okay!” Shauna chirped, following Ella through. The door closed behind them, revealing a small room full of boxes of wires and speakers, illuminated by a single hanging light bulb. “Wow; that's a lot of stuff.”_

“ _Yeah,” Ella said uneasily. “Listen, Shauna. I have something I need to talk to you about.”_

“ _Oh?” Shauna said. “What is it?”_

“ _It's about Monobear,” Ella said. As soon as she said the words, an uneasy feeling began to pool in Shauna's stomach. She suddenly felt very claustrophobic in this room._

“ _What... do you mean?” Shauna asked._

“ _In the IT room, I found something out,” Ella said, her voice low. “I found out the truth behind everything.”_

“ _What? You did?” Shauna replied hastily._

“ _Yeah,” Ella said. “Monobear is a puppet of someone called Junko Enoshima, who started the Despair event in Japan.”_

“ _Oh my God...” Shauna whispered, her face paling._

“ _That's not the end of it,” Ella continued. “Since if Junko managed to hijack the school, it's likely that the Despair event has reached our homes. Our families and friends could be dying as we speak.”_

“ _N-no...” Shauna whimpered. A weight dropped into her stomach, and tears dripped down her cheeks. She clutched onto Cammy with enough force to cause herself to tremble. Every part of her didn't want to believe it, yet Ella had no reason to lie, and it make far too much sense. And then, another realisation came to her. “We have to get out of here.” She felt sick; if this was true, then whilst Monobear was tormenting them, his controller was killing everything she held near and dear. Shauna found herself short of breath; she felt so alone, so powerless._

“ _But there's no way to do that,” Ella said grimly. But Shauna knew the truth: Monobear had said it on the first day he took over._

“ _There is,” Shauna said, hating herself for even suggesting it. “We have to participate in the School Life of Mutual Killing.”_

“ _What?” Ella said. “How could you even suggest that?!”_

_“It's the only way,” Shauna sobbed._

“ _But... but...” Ella protested. “Even if we did, then only one of us could get out.” Shauna shook her head: she had already thought of a way that they could bypass it. It had been a horrible intrusive thought that had interfered with her dreams, but one that could happen._

“ _Actually, I know how we could get past it,” Shauna said. “The rules state that only one culprit will be executed for the murder. So if we're both responsible for the murder, then by technicality neither of us can be executed for it. We'll have to be let out.”_

“ _But... our friends...” Ella said, shaken._

“ _What's more important?” Shauna countered, adrenaline and terror making her raise her voice. “People we've known a few days, or the people we grew up with? The people we love? I know I'd do anything if it meant being able to help my family... what's more important, Ella?”_

“ _How can you...?” Ella said._

“ _Because...” Shauna said. “If I can't help my family, then it's like the ultimate act of betrayal to them.” She held Cammy closer, her heart aching. If they didn't act, then he would be all she had left of home. “How well do we really know everyone? How can we be sure that they won't try to kill us?”_

“ _Oh my God... you're right...” Ella said softly, crying. “We can't trust anyone...” She wiped her tears, and looked at Shauna. “But how will we do it?”_

_“I hate to admit it... but I've already thought about it,” Shauna explained. “We'd use Cammy to commit the murder.”_

“ _Like a puppet?” Ella asked, still sounding guilty and deflated._

“ _Not quite,” Shauna replied. The ache in her chest was slowly subsiding, replaced by a surge of adrenaline at the prospect of their discussion. They were really planning a murder. “Remote control was more what I was thinking of.”_

“ _Can you do that?” Ella asked._

“ _Yes,” Shauna said. “There's enough supplies in the workshop, and combining that with leftover material from here should be enough for it to work.” She let out a sigh. “I already have the program written. All that's left is modifying Cammy.”_

“ _Then... when would we commit the crime?” Ella asked. “And who... who would...” She didn't finish the sentence, overcome by another wave of tears. But Shauna knew what she meant: who would their target be?_

“ _We'll use the dance,” she said slowly, uncertain herself. “We'll go for whoever ends up the most exhausted by it. Plus...” Shauna trailed off, swallowing the lump in her throat. “At least they'll have a good last evening alive.”_

“ _Okay. I understand,” Ella said, nodding harshly. She took a deep breath to compose herself. “So, when do we start?”_

_-_

_Ella looked over the meeting hall, at the wreck that was the dance. Monobear had spiked half the drinks, resulting in more than one drunk student. The chaos had accumulated until it reached a breaking point, with Naomi and Chelsea getting into a fight over something. And currently, the ETL Skater was laying passed out in a pile of food, drink, and tablecloth. Ella glanced behind her: Shauna was stood, holding Cammy tightly, her arms covering certain parts of the puppet to conceal the modifications they had made over the past two days. Dirk was next to Shauna, a scowl on his face._

“ _Man, that sucks,” he said heatedly. “Monobear's making it so we can't have anything decent.” Ella remained uncomfortably silent for the moment: she was about to make everything so much worse._

“ _Tell me about it,” Marian replied dryly, glancing over at Naomi._

“ _So how are we gonna do this?” Dirk asked. “Are we just gonna get up and go to our dorms, or are we gonna clear up first?”_

“ _What time is it?” Shauna asked. She fleetingly glanced at Ella, then Naomi, followed by a brief nod. Ella knew what this meant: Naomi was the target. The only thing Ella could tell herself was that the girl wouldn't even know it was happening._

“ _Just after midnight,” Wyatt clarified, stifling a yawn. That helped as well: everyone would be fast asleep for sure when they struck._

“ _It's far too late to clear up right now,” Shauna said, so sure and confident. From looking at her, you would have no idea she was about to commit a murder. “We'll just get some sleep and do it in the morning.”_

“ _Sounds good,” Marian said evenly. “But before we head out, it'd be best if we all go in groups.” Ella remained impassive, glancing at Shauna. This could be a problem: in groups, they couldn't set up everything right away. They would need to break away from the group somehow._

“ _Why?” Nina asked._

“ _In case someone tries to pull a fast one and commit a murder,” Marian said. “We don't know who's entirely sober here, so it'd just be dangerous to head out alone.” So that was it: what had singled out their victim had also made it harder to be alone._

“ _I'm in agreement,” John said. “Discovering a body would just make it all worse.”_

“ _All right then,” Shauna said, taking charge, and advantage of everyone's trust in her. A trust she would soon betray in the worst way possible. “How big should we go?” Smart. Once they established group sizes, it'd be easier to see the best way to break off from them._

“ _I'm thinking groups of four, to deter any potential double murders,” Marian replied clearly. “Melissa, Mark, Chelsea, and Ben can be one group.” Ella's heart skipped a beat. Marian was assigning groups, which meant there was a chance she and Shauna would be separated. That would just complicate everything further._

“ _That's fine,” Ben said._

“ _Wyatt, Nina, Carlos, and Charlie can be another,” Marian continued._

“ _Got it,” Nina said with a nod. “I'll let those two know.” That was half the students sorted. Ella mentally crossed her fingers; she just had to be with Shauna. She just had to be._

“ _I'll be in a group with Ella, Shauna, and Joel,” Marian said. Ella breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Shauna. They were together. “So Dirk, Andrew, Naomi, and John will be the last group.”_

“ _That's fine,” Andrew said. “But I have a question: what do we do about Naomi?” He motioned to her, an uneasy look on his face. “She's out cold.”_

“ _That could be a problem,” Marian said hesitantly._

“ _Couldn't we just move her?” Dirk offered._

“ _That'd be dangerous,” John said, concerned._

“ _Hey, I've got an idea,” Andrew suggested. “I'll stay here until Naomi wakes up and then we'll head back together.”_

_Ella couldn't help but cast a suspicious glance of disbelief towards Andrew. Surely he couldn't be...? No, he was too genuinely caring to do such a thing._

“ _I don't know about that,” Marian said, folding her arms. “You'll be alone in here and something could happen.”_

“ _It's better than slowly moving through the hallways in the dark being a potential target,” Andrew reasoned. “Plus, it's not as if anyone could sneak up on us in here.”_

“ _That's true,” John said. “This place is pretty safe.”_

“ _The only downside I see is that Monobear could spring up in here and cause you bother,” Shauna said. “But other than that, it's not that bad an idea.” Ella blinked slowly, looking at Shauna. She saw what her friend was doing: the murder was going to take place in here. But before Ella looked away, Shauna ever so slightly raised two fingers. Ella's blood turned to ice: they were going to kill both Naomi and Andrew. That was the only thing Shauna could mean._

“ _All right then,” Marian said. “Andrew, you can stay with Naomi until she wakes up. Dirk and John, feel free to join another group whilst you head back to the dorms for the night.”_

“ _Can do,” Dirk said. “I'll be walking with your group if that's okay.”_

“ _Same here,” John said. “Our dorms are all closely grouped together so it won't be as if we're taking any more time.”_

“ _That's fine with me,” Marian said. Ella let out a breath: they were in the largest group. That would make it even harder for them to cut off from them. But still, she couldn't rouse any suspicion._

“ _I don't have a problem with them joining us,” she said, putting on a composed face._

“ _The more the merrier, huh?” Joel added with a wide grin. Ella looked away, feeling guilt churning in her stomach again._

“ _In that case, it's settled,” Marian said. “Let's head back to our dorms for the evening; Andrew, are you sure you'll be all right here alone?”_

“ _I'll be fine,” Andrew said. “Besides, who's actually going to try and kill someone?”_

“ _That's true,” Shauna said, smiling warmly. She was good._

“ _So, I'll see you guys in the morning,” Andrew said, grinning confidently._

“ _All right,” Marian said. “See you.”_

_-_

“ _I still cannot believe that we are seriously doing this,” Dirk moaned as Ella led him into the IT room. “It's late as hell; what's so important about this USB drive, Ella?”_

_“It contains my personal files,” Ella explained. “I'd rather not leave it out for someone to discover.” The truth was that the drive contained the program to operate Cammy; it had been unloading during the dance, and had provided a perfect excuse to divert away from the group. Unfortunately, Marian had been too smart, and had merely suggested the entire group come. Hopefully Shauna's diversion would be better._

“ _Still,” Dirk said. “Like only you, me, and Mark even use this room so it's not as if anyone's going to loot through them.”_

“ _It's not them I'm worried about,” Ella said. “It's the two foot tall bastardisation of Winnie the Pooh that I'm concerned about.”_

“ _Oh yeah, him,” Dirk said. “I guess that makes sense.” The more Ella spoke with Dirk, the more she realised that he would be the type of person that would never be taken by this game. He was too smart._

_Ella stopped, surveying the room until her eyes rested on one computer that had a blinking light: it was on standby. A USB drive was sticking out of it; the lights on the drive were off. The program was ready._

“ _Found it,” she announced, walking towards the computer. The lights had been turned off as per Night Time regulations, but Dirk had quickly fixed that. Everything was clearly visible in the light._

“ _Then hurry up and get it,” Dirk said, yawning. “I'm gonna pass out if I don't get to bed soon.”_

“ _Okay,” Ella said. She reached the computer, and pulled the drive out. It was still warm. She let out a sigh, and checked her watch. It was nearly one thirty. They only had a few hours before the early risers would be up and about. “I've got it.”_

“ _Then let's get out of here,” Dirk said._

“ _All right,” Ella replied, following him out into the hallway, where the rest of the group was. She stood next to Shauna, who kept looking at Cammy. The ETL Toy Maker was almost trembling: she, too, was aware the time was approaching._

“ _Got it,” Ella said, showing the drive to the rest of the group; everyone just seemed too tired to care at this point. Which was partially what she was aiming for: to exhaust everyone so that they wouldn't object when they left._

“ _Now we can finally head back to our dorms to sleep,” Dirk said. “You know, so we can see who wakes tomorrow with a hangover.” Even now, Dirk had his usual unique sense of humour. Ella was too distracted to pay full attention: her mind was swimming in scenarios for how tonight would go down. She tried to push the doubts away, but they persisted._

“ _Dirk,” Shauna said with wide eyes. “That's hardly something to joke about.” She was playing her part well; the concerned group leader that she appeared to be would never be someone anyone would think capable of murder._

“ _Hey,” Dirk said with a shrug. “If you can't poke fun at a crappy situation, then what's the point?”_

“ _He has a point,” Marian said. “If we don't try and make light of it, it'll just bring us down which is what Monobear wants.” Ella's thoughts redirected to him: he had vanished after announcing his sabotage of the dance, which was odd. But it worked perfectly with the plan to use a voice recording of him in the hall after the murder; everyone would suspect him._

“ _Hey, speaking of which,” she said. “I haven't seen him since the dance.” Just a little more: she had to play along for just a little more._

“ _That is somewhat odd,” John said. “Half-drunk students wandering the halls? You'd think it would be a perfect opportunity for him to harass us.”_

“ _Well, maybe we should just be grateful that he isn't here,” Shauna said. “We might even make it to our dorms in peace.”_

“ _Maybe,” Marian said with a yawn. “In any case, let's go.”_

_Ella and Shauna walked with the others to the end of the hallway, where the staircase to the dorms was situated. Both girls stopped at the top, and looked at each other. Shauna gave a small nod: she was ready._

_Shauna took a couple of steps down the staircase, and then lost her footing. She gave out a wail of surprise, and clung to the banister, letting go of Cammy. The puppet crashed down to the bottom of the stairs, laying in a heap. And, just as planned, his arm had come off._

“ _Cammy!” Shauna cried out, running down the stairs._

“ _Wait up!” Joel called out as everyone else, Ella included, rushed to Shauna's side._

“ _No...” Shauna said softly, cradling Cammy in her arms in such a way that hid the wiring._

“ _I'm so sorry,” Marian said, seeing Shauna's distress._

“ _This is bad,” Shauna said with urgency. “I need to go fix him immediately.” It was time. Ella took a deep breath, ready to act on her feet the moment they left the group._

“ _What?” Joel exclaimed. “Shauna, it's one thirty and dark: can't you wait until morning?”_

“ _No!” Shauna shouted, desperation emanating from her tone. “What if Monobear decides to shut off the wood workshop tomorrow? Then I won't be able to fix him!” She then gave everyone an urgent look of panic. “This can't wait!”_

“ _Shauna!” Marian yelled. But as she did so, Shauna turned and ran from the group, down the hallway. Ella tensed up. She had to act._

“ _This isn't good,” John said. “We need to bring her back before she hurts herself.”_

“ _I'll do it,” Ella said without hesitation, looking down the hallway. Shauna would be at the workshop, waiting for her. She couldn't take too long._

“ _Really?” Dirk asked._

“ _Yeah,” she replied. “I know that area probably better than anyone else; I'll get her back before she puts herself in any more danger.” All this lying was tearing at her insides, but it was necessary if they wanted to succeed._

“ _Would you do that for us?” Marian asked._

“ _She's my friend too,” she said, trying to sound as even as possible. “I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt.”_

“ _Thank you,” Marian said, a relieved smile on her face. She trusted her completely. “Be careful.”_

“ _I will,” Ella replied with confidence. “I'll meet up with you all again in the morning.” Only by morning, the population would only be fourteen large._

“ _All right,” Dirk said airily. “Just don't die.”_

“ _Trust me,” Ella replied wryly, a faint smile on her face. “I won't.” She gave everyone one last nod, and took off down the hallway towards the workshop. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she forced herself to swallow her fear. There could be no hesitation._

_-_

_Shauna's fingers were millimetres away from the keyboard as her eyes locked on the computer screen. The display showed the door to the meeting hall, where Andrew and Naomi were. Ella was sat right next to her, tense. Her fingers were also close to the keyboard, ready to follow Shauna's instructions._

_So far, they had successfully piloted Cammy to the hallway with no trouble. Their earlier gambit had paid off; the smarter ones were all fast asleep. Now they could only hope the same for Andrew and Naomi._

“ _Ready?” Shauna asked, turning to Ella._

“ _Yes,” Ella replied, nodding firmly. “Let's do it.”_

“ _All right then,” Shauna said. “Touch the same keys that I do. Got it?”_

_“Got it,” Ella said._

“ _Then let's start,” Shauna said. She reached for the keyboard, and both girls touched down at the same time. It only took a few moments to get the door open, but the second Cammy began to wedge inside, a voice sounded out._

_Andrew. Murmuring to himself._

_Shauna looked at Ella, panic in her eyes. This was bad. He was still awake. “What now?” Shauna asked, breathing rapidly._

“ _The lights,” Ella said. She quickly leaned over, and guided Cammy to the wall, slamming the light switch. The hall was plunged into darkness as the night-vision camera booted. They could see Andrew's silhouette perfectly._

“ _We don't have much time,” Shauna said, panicked. “Let's go.”_

_Quickly, they guided Cammy across the hall to where Andrew was. “Who is it?” he cried out, panic in his tone. Cammy was mere inches from him._

“ _Which button is it?” Ella asked, her voice a trembling whisper._

“ _Those ones,” Shauna said, pointing to two keys. “At the same time. You take one, I take the other. He'll be dead in an instant.”_

“ _Just give me a moment,” Ella said, a tear gliding down her cheek. She took a deep breath, and moved her hand towards the key. Shauna did the same. But at the last moment, Ella stopped. Her hand trembled in the air above the key._

“ _What is it?” Shauna asked. She raised an eyebrow._

“ _I...” Ella said. “I can't do it... I can't kill...” Her eyes were wide, and her face was pale._

“ _What?!” Shauna exclaimed hastily. “You have to! It's the only way we can get out! Don't you want that?!”_

“ _Not at the expense of someone's life!” Ella shrieked._

“ _...Fine,” Shauna said simply. There was a brief moment of calm before she reached out and grabbed Ella's wrist._

“ _Get off me!” she wailed as Shauna slammed her hand down on the keyboard. Shauna's free hand touched it at the same time, causing Cammy to register the command. The puppet leaped up, and stabbed Andrew in the chest. A blood-curling cry of pain sounded out. “No... oh my God, no...”_

_At that moment, Ella broke down into a panic attack. She was breathing heavily, and heaving with sobs. “I'm not a killer...” she whimpered. “Not a killer...”_

“ _It's too late,” Shauna said grimly._

“ _I'm not a killer!” Ella wailed, before suddenly leaping out of her seat, and running out of the IT room, her sobs fading away. Shauna was left alone, her face burning._

 _The only thing that broke the silence was the sound of Andrew's cries of sheer agony as he slowly bled out._  

-

“...Ella,” John finally said after a pregnant pause. “She was the one that... didn't kill Andrew.”

“Are you sure?” Marian asked, her face downcast. John nodded.

“What?” Chelsea said. “What makes you think that?! Ella was the most suspicious one out of all of us! She didn't open up or anything! How can you know enough about her to say that?!”

“It's her moral principles,” John said. “And, inferring from her ElectroID, she has issues with betrayal. Which would obviously mean she would be conflicted about killing one of her friends.”

“You... remember that?” Ella said, stunned.

“And inferring from Shauna's dominant nature, it was likely that Ella was pressured into the murder,” John continued. “Only the pressure got too much, and she bailed out at the final moment.”

“I see,” Dirk said. “So then Shauna finished the job.”

“Yes,” John said. “At least, that's what it seems to be.”

“I can't believe it...” Melissa said, her voice hollow. “Shauna... you were so cheerful and upbeat. You were the first person to approach me; you went out of your way to ensure everyone felt included and important. Even faced with the School Life of Mutual Killing, you never gave in. You designed the dance to stop this from happening... why did you do it?”

“It's hardly my fault,” Shauna said with surprising hostility. “Honestly, if you want to get down to it, Ella's the one that manipulated me into doing this.”

“Then by that logic, we should be executing Mark for bringing in the footage that Dirk played to Ella,” Chelsea rebutted.

“So then you're admitting you did it,” Dirk said. “The technicalities of the chain of events aren't important.”

“I suppose there's no point in trying to act desperately,” Shauna said, composing herself. “You win.”

“Win?” Nina said tearfully, taken aback. “Shauna, Andrew had a life! He had friends and family! You took him from them!”

“At least Ella had enough decency to pull out at the last minute,” Chelsea said venomously.

“But it's all over with now... that's what matters, right?” Charlie offered.

Shauna scoffed. “Over?” she said. “You think that this will end the killing game?” Shauna shook her head, holding Cammy tightly. “So long as Monobear is here, the bodies will continue to pile up.” Her voice was barely steady, and she had a deflated look in her eyes. “There is no end...”

The mood was broken by Monobear, who suddenly did a pirouette. “Upupu... time's up!” he cheered. “The debate is officially over. And with that comes voting!” He giggled again. “I know I've said this before, but simply use the 'Vote' section of your ElectroIDs to vote for the culprit! Will you be right, or oh so dreadfully despair-inducingly wrong? Upupu~”

Without another word, everyone booted up their ElectroIDs, and headed to the 'Vote' section. It displayed the personal files of each student again, with the exception of Andrew's. With a heavy heart, everyone pressed the same file.

“I'm so sorry...” Melissa whispered as she pressed down. Tears dripped down her face, but she didn't hesitate. The survival of all her friends was key.

Once everyone had finished voting, the lights suddenly died. A spotlight shone down on Andrew's portrait, and began to spin around the podiums, highlighting each student in turn. Eventually, the light slowed and stopped, illuminating Shauna for all to see. This was accompanied by a loud fanfare, and confetti raining from the sky.

“You were right! You bastards were oh so correct!” Monobear cheered, holding pom-poms and performing somersaults. “The one who murdered Andrew Cyrus was in fact Miss ETL Toy Maker... Shauna Kerzenna!”

Everyone stared at Shauna with the exception of Ella, who looked down in shame.

“So you really did do it, huh,” Dirk said.

“I can't believe it,” Mark said. “You were essentially the glue keeping us all together throughout this mess.”

“I told you bastards!” Monobear cried out. “Beware the nice ones!”

“Monobear, could you stop jeering for a moment?” Shauna asked. “I have to ask you something.”

“What could you possibly ask me, you filthy criminal?” Monobear snarled.

“One minute more,” Shauna said. “I just want one more minute before you begin the execution.”

“Don't think you can somehow weasel out of it,” Monobear warned.

“I won't,” Shauna said. She left her podium, and walked across the courtroom. “I just want to minimize the collateral damage.”

Before Monobear could ask what she meant, Shauna approached her partner in crime. “Ella,” she said, strangely calm. “I want you to safeguard Cammy.” She took a deep breath, and set the puppet on the floor, before looking Ella in the eyes. “If you guys ever do get out of here somehow... please, return him to my family, and explain what happened to me. Tell the truth; they deserve it. Can you promise that?”

“Shauna...” Ella said, crying again. She found herself unable to speak, so instead, she picked up Cammy, and held him tightly. Shauna nodded in understanding.

“Thank you,” she said, and returned to her podium, looking over the courtroom. “To everyone... I'm sorry. Hopefully my punishment will serve as a small justice for what I have done... but I ask you to forgive Ella. John was right; I forced her into it under the misguided illusion we could somehow beat this game. She's innocent.”

“Are you quite done?” Monobear asked with a yawn.

“Yes, I'm done,” Shauna said in a small voice, a single tear dripping from her face to the floor.

“Oh goodie!” Monobear cheered. “In that case... it's time for the punishment!”

A small podium rose from the ground in front of Monobear with a large red button on top of it. He pulled out a gavel from seemingly nowhere, and slammed down on the button. The screen which had previously displayed evidence flickered to life, now only displaying a few words in a bright red font.

**GAME OVER**

**SHAUNA KERZENNA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

**COMMENCING EXECUTION: SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN**

The screen switched to a close-up of Shauna who was growing increasingly uneasy. She surveyed the courtroom one last time before a metal clasp attached to a chain clamped around her throat. Shauna let out a gasp of confusion and surprise before the chain yanked her backwards, ripping her forcefully from her podium. She was dragged across the room, and through a pair of double doors. Everyone stared in horror and disbelief as she vanished from sight. The screen, however, continued to provide a means of watching Shauna's demise.

Shauna found herself suddenly chained down to a large conveyor belt. Huge gift-wrapped boxes were in front of and behind her. She looked to the sides of the belt to see hundreds of Monobears dressed in elf costumes. It then hit her.

This was an assembly line in a toy factory.

Before she could do anything else, Shauna was lifted up by the Monobears, and thrown into an open empty box. The lid was placed on, and her world was thrown into darkness.

The box reached the end of the assembly line, and was loaded onto a large red sleigh, piloted by a larger Monobear in a Santa costume, complete with a white bushy beard and hat. Once the box was secured on the sleigh, it took off through another set of double doors. At this point, Shauna's hopeless wails could be heard from inside the box.

The sleigh entered a large room full of houses with wide smoking chimneys. It flew over several of them, eventually stopping on a particularly big rooftop. Santa Monobear lifted up the box and carried it over to the chimney. It rocked back and forth as Shauna desperately tried to struggle free. But before that could come to fruition, Santa Monobear threw the box down the chimney, blocking off the smoke.

Inside the box, Shauna suddenly became aware of an intense heat and the stench of smoke. She choked and spluttered as the box became hotter and hotter. And then, the bottom of the box began to curl and burn and glow orange. She was helpless as the box landed in a massive fireplace and was eaten up by the flames. The roar of the fire swallowed up her screams of terror as the flames lapped at her flesh. Shauna kicked and screamed and wailed in agony as her skin blistered, blackened, and burned off.

The bottom of the box then gave out, and Shauna was directly exposed to the fire. The pain only lasted a few seconds as her nerves were burned away into oblivion. Her face fell into the flames: she was blind in seconds. Her screaming finally stopped when her hair and scalp and skull were burned away, and her brain was but a puddle of bubbling tar.

The screen only turned off when a pile of ash was all that remained of Shauna.

-

Ella had buried her face into Cammy, shaking with sobs. Charlie was curled up by the elevator door; Carlos was desperately trying to calm her, but he was trembling and crying as well. Dirk covered his mouth with one hand, staring blankly at the screen. Melissa and Mark were crying into each other. Marian and John numbly stared into space.

The only one who wasn't overcome by despair was Monobear, who was gleefully jumping up and down.

“Woohoo!” he cheered. “Wasn't that the most extreme, exhilarating thing?”

“How can you...” Nina wept. “How can you call _that_...”

“Oh, come on!” Monobear retorted. “When I said the culprit would be executed, what were you bastards thinking? Something simple like a hanging or a firing squad? That would just be ETL Booring!”

“She didn't deserve that...” Marian said, her face flushed and clammy. “Even for what she did, she didn't deserve that. Not even the most heinous of criminals deserve something like that.”

“Well, she should have thought about it before she went and killed someone!” Monobear replied. “Besides, don't you have more important things to do?”

“Like what?” Marian asked.

“Deciding what to do with little miss traitor!” Monobear replied, pointing a paw in Ella's direction. “Surely you bastards won't let her get away with assisting with the murder?”

Everyone looked at Ella uneasily. Ella just continued to cry into Cammy.

“What do we do about her?” Nina asked.

“She still set up the murder, and allowed for Shauna to kill Andrew,” Chelsea said, her voice raw with emotion and anger. “She deserves an execution.”

“Hey,” Dirk shot back. “That makes you just as bad as him. She's a victim to this game as much as Andrew was.”

“She killed Andy!” Naomi sobbed. “How can you be so supportive of her? We need to deal with her right now!”

“Please...” Melissa begged. “No more violence... no more death...” Tears stained her blouse.

“We'll deal with that later,” Marian said. “We've had enough trauma today as it is. Tomorrow morning we'll decide something.”

“Upupu~” Monobear giggled. “So can we all expect a trial for the murder of Ella tomorrow...? How despair-inducing!”

“No,” Marian said boldly. She eyed Monobear up. “There will be no more despair. We will deal with Ella, but we won't let you win. I can guarantee that.”

“Upupu... upupu...” Monobear giggled. “We'll see about that... anyway, the School Trial is officially over! And Night Time's starting soon, so you bastards should probably get into that elevator and get a good night's sleep, since tomorrow will be a big, big day!”

“What do you mean by that?” John asked.

“I'm not spoiling the surprise!” Monobear chirped.

“Let's just get out of here,” Dirk said. “I've had enough of dealing with this bear's crap for one day.”

Oddly enough, Dirk's words spurred everyone to move towards the elevator, albeit with legs made of lead. He stood by the doors until everyone was inside. He took a step towards the elevator, but before he entered, he turned to Monobear, and lifted his middle finger up, glaring coldly before finally entering. The doors closed, and everyone was carried out of the courtroom, and back to the hallway.

The second the elevator doors opened, Ella hurried out, and rushed down the hallways, vanishing from sight. Nobody objected as they filed out into the hallway, standing in a shocked silence.

“I want to go home,” Carlos said in a defeated voice, echoing everyone's thoughts. “I've had enough; this is hell.”

“I really don't wanna see what Monobear has planned for tomorrow,” Joel said wearily.

“Maybe it won't be so bad...?” Mark tried to offer, barely believing his own words.

“With two of our friends dead, and one a back-stabbing traitor?” Naomi replied. “It's hopeless to even pretend there's anything good in here.”

“Don't say that,” Marian said, catching everyone's attention. “I know that what happened today was beyond horrible, but we mustn't lose hope. We cannot give Monobear the satisfaction. So no matter what, we must face everything he throws at us with a positive outlook. The only way we can get out is if we don't let Monobear beat us.”

With these final words, the group dispersed, solemnly returning to their dorms. Half wouldn't sleep, and the half that would sleep would be faced with nightmares of their dead friends. Yet despite this, a select few still vowed to not lose hope. They would keep going, and resist despair at every turn.

Monobear hadn't won yet.


	12. Aftermath

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! It is now seven am, marking the end of Night Time. The cafeteria has been unlocked, and the lights turned on. Here's to another day of mutual killing! Upupu~”_

The horrific evening finally evolved into a new dawn.

Mark sat in front of his laptop, bags heavy under his eyes. He was still wearing his regular attire; sleep had been impossible for him. So from two thirty onwards, he had just been editing the footage of the documentary. The theme had changed; instead of being a visual memento of their time at the academy, it had become a gruelling survivors' tale.

Horror wasn't something new to him; in his career, Mark had filmed countless war zones, riots, and even the Despair event itself. He had seen young men and women torn apart by explosions, rioters and police gunned down, and even mothers cradling the mangled remains of their infants. And none of that had affected him in the way that yesterday had.

Andrew's body, lying where Mark had asked Melissa to dance with him mere hours before the tragedy, didn't leave Mark's mind. The way he was just crumpled on the floor in a puddle of blood was chilling in a way nothing else had ever been. But then, following that, Shauna's execution... that went beyond inhumane. Mark's chest tightened, and he fought the urge the throw up.

He had watched every second of the footage on that large screen. It was all so vivid in his mind: Shauna screaming in pure horror as she was burned to a crisp. He had done it out of a morbid curiosity, and felt regret punching him in the gut with every breath he took.

His stomach growled, but Mark had no appetite. He contemplated remaining in his room the moment his thoughts returned to Monobear. That creature had done all this: he had spurred Ella and Shauna into action, and he had then orchestrated Shauna's execution. Monobear was going to destroy them all. But isolation was the worst thing to do in this situation: he had to see the others.

On feet made of lead, Mark forced himself away from his computer, and out towards the hallway, reluctantly starting the next day in Sun's Joy.

There were only seven people at breakfast. Melissa, Marian, John, Chelsea, Mark, Naomi, and Carlos were the only ones to show. They all sat at the large central table, each looking as sleep-deprived as the next. Half of them didn't eat, and those that did mainly sipped from coffee cups for a desperate rush of caffeine.

“So... has anyone seen any sign of the others?” Naomi asked, breaking the heavy silence. There was a distant look to her eyes.

Melissa shook her head. “I don't think anyone else is coming,” she said regretfully.

“Damn it...” Chelsea said. “So only half of us are sticking together.”

“You say that like we won't see hind nor hair of the others,” John said. “There's only so much space in this building; we'll encounter them eventually.”

“That's what I'm afraid of...” Carlos said. “We don't know what half the group is doing: someone could be dead already and we wouldn't know until Monobear makes the announcement...”

“So what do we do?” Mark asked. “The group's fallen apart under the pressure; we can't manage everyone and can't do much to prevent a murder from occurring outside of the group.”

“I'm not sure,” Marian said. “I think the best course of action is to give everyone the benefit of the doubt; they may still be in shock from yesterday and might need some time to come around.”

“I just hope they're okay,” Melissa said as she sipped from her coffee, her face downcast.

Without warning, Naomi let out a large sigh, and looked over the group. “This sucks major ass,” she said, “but being down isn't going to make it better. Being all hella depressed like this is exactly what Monobear wants, and I don't want that creep to beat us. Plus, negative vibes are sucky as hell.” She pouted for a moment, before forcing a wide smile. “So that's why I've decided I'm gonna try and be positive!”

“I admire your optimism,” John said wryly. “I think we could all benefit from your impeccable ability to bounce back from a negative mood with ease.”

“That's the spirit!” Naomi said. “Because we can't stop the bad things from happening, so why get down about it?”

“But Naomi...” Carlos said. “How can you not be bothered by what happened yesterday? Two people died!”

“Oh, I'm still really upset,” Naomi admitted. “But Andy wouldn't want us all to be mopey like this. And in her own way, Shauna still tried to give us one last night of happiness before trying to betray us, so I think we should respect those peeps' wishes of us being happy despite everything.”

“You really think that's the best philosophy?” Melissa asked. “But nothing's changed from yesterday; two people have died. That's the only difference...”

“Well, duh,” Naomi said, still grinning. “But we're still alive, so that's gotta be something worth smiling about, right?”

“I think I get where she's coming from,” Mark said. “I was taught something like that a few years back when I did my first filming of a conflict. I was told that the best thing to do is to celebrate someone's death and to honour them by not making their deaths in vain. So... I think the best thing to do is to keep moving forward, and acknowledge that Andrew and Shauna weren't meaningless faces; they were victims of this at the end of the day.”

“That's the spirit, Marky!” Naomi cheered, high-fiving him. Within the space of a couple of minutes, the atmosphere in the cafeteria brightened considerably. In this situation, positive thinking was the best thing they could do.

“So where do we go from here?” Carlos asked.

“I'm thinking the best course of action would be to head out and try and find the others,” Marian said. “Being scattered like this seriously endangers everyone.”

“Plus, being alone encourages fear,” John said. “Without a group unity, people are more likely to give in to the School Life of Mutual Killing.”

“I don't think we could handle another murder so soon after the last one,” Chelsea said. “Where do we start?”

“The dorms would be best,” Marian said. “And then the classrooms. It's likely that the others will be in those places.”

“I don't imagine everyone will be opposed to coming together again,” Mark said. “Hopefully we can increase the numbers by dinner.”

“Hopefully,” Marian said, appearing to be thinking something over. “And then from there we can sort out any problems within the group. After yesterday, I feel there are some unresolved conflicts that need to be put to rest.”

“Wait, what are you—” Chelsea began as the realisation dawned on her. “Are you talking about Ella? Like, are you seriously implying we let her join us after what she tried?”

“I'm gonna draw the line as well,” Naomi said. “I wouldn't trust her to be in the same building as me, never mind working with me! She's a killer!”

“I'm not sure having her with us would be the best idea...” Carlos admitted.

“This is exactly why we need everyone together to sort this out,” Marian said. “A rift like this will likely lead to at least one body being found in no time.”

“I agree,” Melissa said. “We need everyone together before we—”

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! There is going to be an important announcement, so if I were you, I'd haul my sorry behind down to the meeting hall! After all, you wouldn't like to see the consequences of playing hooky... upupu...”_

The seven students in the cafeteria all exchanged bewildered glances as the announcement came to an end. The positive atmosphere was instantly shattered.

“It doesn't end, does it?” Chelsea asked. “What does he want this time?”

“No idea,” Marian said. “But it would be suicidal to not go.”

“I just wish we could have found the others before this...” Melissa said wearily as they all stood up. “Whatever Monobear has planned will only worsen the rift between us.”

“That is a problem,” John acknowledged. “However, we need to deal with Monobear before anything else.”

“I suppose...” Melissa said. The conversation naturally trailed off after that as they all left the cafeteria, and entered the hallway.

As they reached the stairs that led down to the ground floor, Mark suddenly froze. “Oh God...” he said.

“What is it?” Chelsea asked.

“The meeting hall... I just realised...” Mark said. “What if... Andrew...”

“You mean... what if his body's still there?” Naomi whispered, going pale. “That can't happen. No, no, no no no... that can't happen!”

“I'm not going in there if Andrew's still there,” Carlos breathed. He backed up against the wall. “That's just... that's sick!”

“But we can't not go,” Marian said. “I fear Monobear has more executions in store if we don't attend this meeting.” She let out a sigh. “But I can't doubt the possibility of a dead body waiting for us.”

“Nononononononono!” Naomi cried. She slumped to the floor, weeping. “This can't be happening!”

“Calm down. I've seen the hall; Monobear has thoroughly removed all traces of that nightmare.”

Everyone looked to see Dirk looking up at them from the bottom of the stairs.

“The body's gone?” Melissa enquired.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “Monobear must have removed it during Night Time, or during the trial. He also cleaned up the party; it's like the past couple of days never happened.” He folded his arms. “I personally find it likely that Monobear's too squeamish to have a rotting corpse just chilling there.”

“Chilling...” Chelsea said, giving Dirk a withering look. “That's a bit harsh, isn't it?”

“He's dead,” Dirk said. “The guy's hardly gonna complain about how we address his current non-existent corpse.”

“Where were you at breakfast, anyway?” Chelsea asked. “Nobody showed up.”

“I was investigating,” Dirk said. “No idea about the others, though.”

“Investigating?” Marian asked.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “Found out that the courtroom's locked again, and that Andrew and Shauna's dorm doors are gone. There are just two blank spots on the wall where they used to be; Monobear's trying to wipe them from existence or something I swear.”

“That's helpful to know,” Marian said. “It at least indicates Monobear has the ability to redesign the layout at the drop of a hat.”

“No kidding,” Dirk scoffed, glancing at his PDA. “It's like some freaky game of the Sims featuring Build Mode that defies the laws of physics and just as bizarre deaths of the residents done for the controller of this game's amusement.”

“Apt analogy,” John said dryly. “But isn't gaming jargon Nina's area of expertise?”

“I got into this academy for essentially being internet trash,” Dirk said. “Plus, I started out my hacking career through reprogramming games so I think I'm allowed this reference.”

“Huh,” Marian said. “Well, in any case, Monobear's still waiting for us; keeping him waiting would not be the best thing here.”

“True,” Dirk said. “Let's just hope the others show up; I dread to think what'll happen to them if they don't.”  
  
With no further discussion, the eight students walked down the hallway, uneasily approaching the meeting hall. The doors loomed over them, reminding every one of them of the events that had transpired beyond those doors.

“I've got a really bad feeling...” Carlos said. “What if it's something awful.”

“Likely it's another motive,” Dirk said.

“Motive?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah,” Melissa said. “Like a whodunnit kind of thing; after each murder another motive is thrown into the air to keep the characters suspicious and willing to kill.”

“Pleasant,” Chelsea said dryly.

“But then what was the motive for Andrew's murder?” Carlos asked.

“Sealing this place up,” John said. “Monobear was preying on the natural desire to escape confines; Shauna had been in this situation before, and so was the first to act out so she didn't have to repeat the trauma.”

“Pretty much,” Dirk said. “Hopefully we don't have something as drastic as this.” As he finished that sentence, Dirk gestured to the hallway, where a single sealed window was. The metal sheet remained where it was. After that, he approached the doors. “Might as well get it over with.” Dirk pushed the doors open, and the others followed him through into the meeting hall.

They weren't the first to arrive: already Charlie, Joel, and Nina were stood near the stage, talking. Nina was the first to notice them. “Hey guys,” she said. “Glad to see you made it; we've been waiting for a friendly arrival for a while now.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mark asked as the two groups met up.

“Well... we mean _her_ ,” Nina said. She pointed to the corner of the room, where Ella stood, looking down. It was as if she was trying to blend in with the wall. “She showed up a minute after us, and just placed herself there.”

“Well, she should,” Chelsea said bitterly. “She's still an accomplice to a murder: she's just as bad as Shauna.”

“We get it,” Dirk warned. “You hate her guts; just don't make a scene until after Monobear reveals the next twist to the game.”

“Game?” Nina said. “You think this is a game?”

“Well, yeah,” Dirk said. “Winning gets you out of here, and if you lose, you die. Setting moral obligations aside, it's a fairly simple concept to grasp.” He let out a sigh. “Although it's a pretty crappy game; you only get one shot to play it.”

“...You're unbelievable, you know that?” Nina said. “I'm just glad that this killing thing is over with.”

“Over with?” John asked.

“Yeah,” Nina said. “As harsh as it sounds, after seeing what happened to Shauna, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to try it knowing the cost of failure.”

“I disagree,” Dirk said simply. “If anything, it'll make the next killer more likely to strike.”

“Huh?” Joel said. “Even knowing what'll happen to them when they get caught...?”

“The parameters for this game have been spelled out clearly,” Dirk said. “We all know the procedures now. Plus, they have Ella and Shauna's mistakes to learn from. Essentially, the last trial was both a deterrent and a confidence booster, depending on how much you want to be stuck in here.”

“Isn't that a bit harsh?” Mark said sceptically. “I mean, you're selling all our friends out here, Dirk.”

“Not really,” Dirk said. “The seed of distrust is firmly planted: only half of you showed up for breakfast. Doesn't that say enough about the state of the group dynamic?”

“But...” Charlie said meekly. “Everyone was getting along so well... was yesterday really enough to break us apart...?”

“Afraid so,” Dirk said. “I suggest you all make your close friends now, because after the next trial, any rifts will be totally unrepairable. We'll get more and more suspicious as the bodies pile up as the fear of becoming the next corpse ends up being overwhelming.”

“Stop,” Marian said. “I think we get the point. You're just sowing fear unnecessarily.” She motioned to a trembling Charlie and a pale Carlos. “At least try and keep the dynamic going, Dirk.”

“Whatever,” Dirk said. “Just don't come crying to me when everything falls apart.” He glanced over to the corner of the room to see Ella listening intently. They both exchanged a brief look before Dirk returned his attention to the others.

A few moments later, Ben and Wyatt entered the meeting hall. They joined up with the main group, not even sparing a second glance for Ella.

“Hey guys,” Wyatt said. “Sorry we're late; the elevator jammed on the way down.”

“Awful luck,” John said.

“Well, neither of us is the ETL Luckster,” Ben said, cracking a wry grin.

“I bet if we had one of those then we wouldn't be in this situation,” Mark mused.

“Is it too late to change our talent?” Nina pondered. “Since I'd happily sacrifice my ETL for super luck.”

“I don't think it would make much of a difference now,” Marian said. “Even if you suddenly became incredibly lucky we'd still need to get out of here and beat Monobear; chances are he's above luck.”

“I can imagine him saying that perfectly,” Chelsea said bitterly. “It'd be like 'upupu! I'm luckier than the luckiest! You bastards could never touch the fortune that surrounds me!'” Her impression of the stuffed animal elicited a giggle from Naomi.

“He would as well,” Naomi said. “Oh my God I just hate him so much!”

“Can you say that?” Joel said, shocked. “What if he adds a new rule where we can't even insult him without being crushed by a massive hammer or something?”

“I doubt it,” Marian said. “Our hatred of Monobear is just as much of a motive as whatever he actually throws at us; it makes sense to let that hatred grow into uncontrollable despair.”

“Plus, Monobear has an ego the size of China, so any talk about him is good talk,” Mark added wearily. “He probably thinks he's a celebrity or something.”

“I think we can sleep soundly on the thought that our freedom of speech will remain intact,” Melissa said.

“Hopefully,” Carlos said. “I don't know with Monobear; you can never tell what he'll do next.”

“Most certainly!” Monobear added. “It's just one big surprise!”

“Yeah, that's... hey,” Joel said. His eyes suddenly widened. “Monobear?!”

“Ah!” Naomi shrieked, backing away from him. “Get away get away get away get away get away!”

“Nu-uh,” Monobear said. “Why would I do that? I'm your beloved headmaster, am I not?”

“I'd say both of those terms are a pile of BS,” Dirk retorted coldly. “Gleeful murder isn't exactly a beloved past-time and as a headmaster, I can say with certainty you are the crappiest one I've ever had.”

“Your words cut deep...” Monobear sighed depressingly. “Especially when I am presenting you bastards with a reward!”  
  
“Reward?” John asked.

“Yep!” Monobear beamed. “Take it as a token of my pride! You bastards have finally woken up to this situation, and the killing has begun! A prize is obviously in order!”

“I'm _enthralled_ ,” Chelsea said dryly. “Lay it on us, O Almighty Monobear.”

“Okay then!” Monobear chirped. “I'm gonna give you bastards some breathing space!”

“Breathing... space?” Naomi questioned.

“Yes!” Monobear announced. “You bastards have been cooped up in here long enough that you may very well run out of oxygen!”

“What?!” Joel cried out. From the corner, Ella stared on at the commotion..

“Just like when you throw all your fish out of the bowl and onto the floor!” Monobear explained. “You bastards will all start flopping around unceremoniously and then finally kick the bucket! No ifs or buts about it!” He let out a giggle. “And wouldn't that be the most boring end to the School Life of Mutual Killing? Especially after you bastards have proven you can actually be exciting!”

“Just tell us your remedy to this problem,” Dirk said. “We don't have time for your shenanigans, Monobear.”

“Watch and see!” Monobear cried out. From nowhere, he pulled out a remote control with a big red button on it. His paw slammed down on it instantly.

For a moment, there was a hushed silence. Then came a deep metallic groan. Everyone looked around frantically as the building began to tremble. Then the lights went out.

“Who turned out the lights?!” Joel cried out.

“This is horrible!” Naomi wailed.

“Where'd Monobear go?” Chelsea asked.

“Could we all just stop freaking out?” Dirk said over the panicked chorus. “That'll get us nowhere.”  
  
As Dirk spoke, a thin beam of light shone down on the meeting hall. Ben was the first to look up and notice the growing slit of brightness from the skylight. “Look guys!” he said, staring.

“Oh my God, the light,” Nina said. “It's the skylight!”

“So it is,” John mused.

“Upupu... you'd better believe it!” Monobear called out as the groaning stopped and natural sunlight shone down. “This is your reward for such an exhilarating trial! The seals on the windows and doors are gone! Free reign of campus is yours once more!”

“Really?” Mark asked.

“Definitely!” Monobear chirped.

“No strings attached?” Dirk asked. “As in, this is a genuine reward?”

“Of course!” Monobear exclaimed. “Despair can only be nourished in an abundance of hope, and between you bastards and me, this building was getting awfully stuffy with despair! We need greener pastures!”

“I see,” Marian said.

“Well, we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth,” Melissa added. “But I have to ask: is it just the campus, or the entire island?”

“Sorry! That comes later!” Monobear said. “But don't feel down: you get to access the sparkling palm-lined east beach! And the weather out there is beautiful!”

“No prizes for me saying that we get the whole island after another trial, huh,” Dirk said.

“Ding ding! We have a winner! Top of the class! A plus for you!” Monobear said, waving his arms in the direction of Dirk, who promptly took a step back, wrinkling his face up in disgust.

“So... now what?” Carlos asked. “Can we go? Or... is there a motive?”

“Nope!” Monobear announced. “No more motives for a few days: take it easy. Enjoy the gorgeous facilities our dearly absent faculty put together for your bastards, and take advantage of the tropical weather! Or just get right back to killing; I don't really care! Upupu...”

“So this is it?” Melissa asked. “Nothing else? You're going to leave us alone for a while?”

“Yep!” Monobear replied. “You're free to do whatever!Upupu!”

“So let's just blow this place,” Chelsea said. “I'm itching for some sunlight, and I sure as hell don't wanna spend any more time around Chucky the Second.”

“How mean!” Monobear snapped. He drooped in misery for a moment, before springing back up. “Oh yeah! I forgot! You bastards still have one more thing to do before you're free to explore your newly-granted territory!”

“And that would be...?” Marian said.

“Oh, isn't it obvious?” Monobear said naively, tilting his head. “It's choosing an appropriate punishment for Miss ETL Sound Engineer!”

Instantly the mood shifted. Every eye turned to the corner of the meeting hall, where Ella stood meekly. “Huh...?” she said incredulously.

“You're disrupting the peace here, creating rifts in the group dynamics,” Monobear explained aloofly; his red eye started to glow. “And in my book, that warrants a punishment as much as killing does!”

“But... I...” Ella whimpered, turning white. “I didn't...”

“Can you do that?” Marian said to Monobear sceptically. “The rules explicitly state that...”

“Screw the rules!” Monobear said. “She needs to be dealt with!”

“Surely none of you guys think this is right,” Dirk said, facing the others.

“Well, she did assist in Andrew's murder...” Nina admitted.

“To which she had a change of heart,” Dirk argued.

“How can we know she didn't change her mind because she knew she wouldn't survive the trial?” Chelsea retorted. “Maybe she's planning another murder right now.”

“Maybe it's for the best...” Wyatt said with a shrug.

“Okay,” Dirk said. “You do realise what the punishment is, right? We'd be facing a repeat of Shauna if we allow it.”

“No...” Charlie whimpered. “Not again... no more...”

“I wouldn't want to see something like that again,” Ben said. “Putting aside my personal view on Ella, we can't go through that again. Especially so soon after Andrew and Shauna.”

“Monobear, I think we've reached a consensus,” Marian said, taking charge. “None of us want Ella to receive one of your 'punishments'.”

“Fine then!” Monobear snapped. “But she still needs a punishment! I'll give you bastards two minutes to come up with something, and if you don't... prepare for an ETL Extreme Punishment!”

“What do we do?” Melissa asked. “Even though she's an accomplice, nobody deserves a punishment like that.”

“But we can't leave her unpunished,” Mark added. “Otherwise Ella's as good as dead.”

“So what kind of punishment do we give?” Naomi asked. “We can't kill her; that'd make us as bad as Monobear.”

“Obviously it needs to provide despair for Ella,” Marian said. “Or at the very least, Monobear needs to see it that way.” She faced John. “You probably know Ella best; any suggestions?”

“Hmm,” John said. “I'm thinking. Maybe we could—”

“Tick tock, you bastards!” Monobear sang.

“It can't have any conditions attached that Monobear could exploit,” Dirk added. “Don't word it like an official rule.”

“I don't see why we're doing this,” Chelsea said. “She's just as bad as Shauna; let Monobear do what he likes.”

“Ignore her,” Dirk said.

“Hey!” Chelsea shouted.

“Not now,” Dirk said. “John, what were you saying?”

“Yeah,” John said. “I thought of a way we can still issue something without playing into Monobear's hands; we'd just have to—”

“Ding ding ding! Time's up!” Monobear announced.

“H-huh?” Melissa said.

“You took too long deliberating on how to deal with Miss Ella,” Monobear said nonchalantly. “So I get to deliver the punishment!”

“No...” Mark said.

“Too bad!” Monobear shouted. With sudden vigour, he faced Ella. “It's time for a super special punishment!”

“S-stop!” Ella shouted. “No!”

Without warning, Monobear pressed down on the remote control again, causing a large contraption to rise up from the ground. He giggled maniacally all the while.

“What is that?” Nina asked.

“It's my own patented despair-inducing death ray!” Monobear explained. “One blast from this laser beam and... you're dust!”

“Don't do this!” Ella wailed.

“Upupu... upupu...” Monobear giggled. He hit the remote once more; the machine began to whir to life. The pointer faced Ella and began to light up.

“ _Someone help me!_ ” Ella screamed.

“What do we do?” Mark asked aloud.

“There's not much we can do...” John said, defeated. He looked over at Ella. “I'm sorry, Ella...”

At this point everyone looked away, except for Dirk, who alternated between glancing at Ella and his PDA. Instantly his eyes lit up. “Hold up,” he said. “This thing's operated by a remote computer system; I can get into it.”

“Then do something!” Melissa yelled.

“On it,” Dirk replied sharply, tapping frantically at his PDA. Monobear danced around the machine, oblivious to Dirk's attempt to interfere. “Okay, loading... loading... loading... loading... here. I've got the interface.”

“Shut it down!” Melissa urged.

“Got it,” Dirk said, continuing to tap at the screen. “Okay, these files don't make sense... but here... no... Monobear's selfie album... gibberish... ah ha. Operation files.” Dirk looked back at the machine, and suddenly all talk of hacking into the execution stopped. The death ray was fully lit up, with a high frequency whirring sounding out. It was about to go.

“It's time...” Monobear said. “For the _punishment!_ ” He lifted the remote, ready to fire.

But as Monobear's paw moved downwards, Dirk suddenly took off towards Ella. The others watched in shock as he hurried towards the stunned girl. Monobear hit the button. At the same time, Dirk leaped forward, tackling Ella to the ground a few feet away from where she stood. The beam fired, missing both of them, and leaving a black scorch mark on the floor. The machine died down and retreated into the ground. Dirk and Ella remained on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Got you,” Dirk gasped. Ella stared at Dirk, speechless. “You're safe.”

“And what the hell was that?!” Monobear roared, waddling over to the two of them with volcanic fury. “You can't just interfere with an execution!”

“There's... no rule against it...” Dirk huffed as he stood up to face Monobear. “What are you gonna do? _Punish me_?”

“This blatant defiance of your headmaster is unacceptable!” Monobear yelled. “It's like a personal attack on me!”

“Chill your tatas,” Dirk said. “I did it to buy time so we could deliver a definite verdict on Ella's fate; blasting people to bits is hardly the right solution.” A dark grin crossed Dirk's face. “Besides, you wouldn't want to remove such an interesting player from the game so early, would you?”

“Uh... I... argh!” Monobear snapped. “You got me there! Fine, I'll give you bastards more time to decide on what to do with her! But _you_ , Mr ETL Hacker, get no say!” He turned away; as he did so, Ella stood to her feet.

“Thanks,” Ella whispered as Monobear retreated towards the stage.

“Don't mention it,” Dirk replied at a similar volume. “Now let's hope the others don't fail us.”

Dirk glanced over to the rest of the students, watching most of them talk. Marian, John, Naomi, Melissa, and Mark were in a deep discussion, whilst Chelsea kept glaring incredulously at Dirk and Ella. The others mainly spoke amongst themselves. Dirk strained to hear, but couldn't make out much: surely they would take his side on this? They had to: nobody here would willingly sign the death warrant of another.

Eventually, Marian faced Monobear. “We have decided on a verdict,” she said smoothly, betraying nothing from her tone.

“Oh?” Monobear said, lounging at the front of the stage.

“Yes,” Marian continued. “Our punishment for Ella is this: banishment.

“B-banishment?” Ella said to Dirk. Dirk merely shrugged in response.

“How very interesting!” Monobear exclaimed. “Do spill the beans!”

“Ella will no longer be able to reside within the central building,” Marian explained. “She will have twenty-four hours to gather her belongings and take residency elsewhere on campus. After this, she will be denied access to the dormitories and the cafeteria. Additionally, if Ella is present in the central building, she must be under the watch of an escort at all times.”

“I...” Ella whispered.

“Upupu... how despair-inducing! Creating a pariah!” Monobear giggled. “Is that all?”

“Not quite,” John added. “Under exceptional circumstances, Ella will be allowed entrance to the dormitories and the cafeteria. These circumstances are during investigations and school trials, and if there is significant effort to show her life is in danger. That is all.”

“Okay then!” Monobear announced. “So it is confirmed! Ella Walker, you are hereby sentenced to banishment from living in the central building of Sun's Joy Academy! By this time tomorrow, if you're caught wandering around in the dorms or cafeteria and there isn't a body... it's punishment time!”

“I...” Ella began. “Yes, I understand. I'll be gone by Night Time.”

“I'm grateful for your cooperation,” Marian said. Ella breathed out the smallest sigh of relief.

A silence fell over the meeting hall for a short while, until Monobear began to dance on the stage. “And with that, this meeting has been drawn to a close! Feel free to explore your new world, and make the most of this new-found freedom!”

“So, we can leave now?” Nina asked.

“Yep! Monobear replied. “Have fun you bastards!” And he was gone.

“So... the whole campus?” Joel mused. “Does that include every facility?”

“It should do,” Melissa replied. Her face suddenly lit up. “That means I can finally access the library that sold this place for me! Over three million titles, just waiting for me to read...”

“And don't forget the skate park!” Naomi cried out. “Oh man... I'm hella pumped to explore!”

“Hey, we have access to the dance hall now,” Chelsea said. “You can be sure I'll be putting on a show in the near future.”

“Plus there's the pool,” Joel said. “That'd be a fun way to spend time.”

“Who cares about a pool when we have the entire east beach!” Naomi exclaimed. “Sun, surf, sand... oh my gosh this is gonna be rad as hell!”

“And the garden...” Charlie added softly. “It'll be nice to get some peace and tranquillity after everything.”

“That's just scratching the surface,” Ben said. “There are tons of things to explore. Personally, I can't wait to see the textile building to maybe grab some new materials.”

“Well, we can't just all go to the same place,” John said. “We need to explore the entire campus as quickly as possible; there might be a clue as to how we can get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “So we need to split up and cover as much ground as possible, and then report back at the end of the day our findings. From there, we'll decide on what to do next.”

“Just so long as we do get a chance to relax,” Nina said. “These facilities are the reason why we came here; it'd be a shame not to enjoy it all, at least for a little while.”

“I agree with Nina,” Wyatt said. “But I also think we should find out everything there is to find before planning anything.”

“After we explore, we'll decide on something to do,” Marian said. “I think we all deserve a break after the past few days.”

“Um...” Charlie began.

“What is it?” Marian asked.

“I'm just wondering... where's Dirk?”

Everyone looked to the corner of the room where Dirk and Ella had been standing; both were gone. “I guess he's helping her move out,” Mark guessed.

“I don't see why,” Chelsea grumbled. “She assisted in killing Andrew.”

“Just leave it for now,” John pleaded. “Instead let's focus on exploring the campus. Those whose ETLs correspond to a building can go there; everyone else can go search the other places.”

“I'm okay with that,” Carlos said.

“Yeah,” Nina added.

“It has to beat being cooped up inside this building all day, every day,” Chelsea said.

“Plus, we might find out more about why we're trapped here, and maybe even a way off the island,” Mark said with determination.

“Then it's settled,” Marian said. “Let's begin.”


	13. Expanded Horizons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't updated this fic since october 2014 and i don't really have anything to say about that other than here we are and also that i haven't stopped thinking about this fic once. this chapter was written over the span of two years so forgive the weird and inconsistent writing styles in the early parts. i'd edit it but it's 22k long so it's just...done and i refuse to look back. the plane's a wreck but by god am i gonna stick this landing.

The sun was shining down from the clear blue sky, filling the island with mid-morning warmth. A pleasant breeze carried the scent of the ocean with it, and the occasional sea bird flew overhead.

Melissa and Mark were near the fountain outside the southern exit to the central building. Melissa was sitting on the edge of the fountain, reading a fairly hefty novel, whilst Mark had his camera on a tripod as he filmed the area around him. “After four gruelling days trapped within the confines of the central building of Sun's Joy Academy,” he announced, panning to a shot of the building, “our captor and tormentor Monobear has finally allowed us the freedom to explore the full campus.”

“Done yet?” Melissa asked.

“Yep,” Mark said, smiling. “All wrapped up here.”

“That's good,” Melissa said. She slotted a bookmark between the two open pages, and placed the book in her bag. “I suppose we can get going now.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Have you decided where we're going first?”

“Well, according to the map, we're about equidistant from both the library and the film studio,” Melissa said. “So time's not really an issue.”

“How about we head to the library first?” Mark suggested. “I mean, it's a little more remote than the studio, so there'll be fewer people to distract us.” He let out a sheepish chuckle. “Not to say that any of our friends are nuisances, or anything…”

Melissa smiled wanly. “I see your point,” she said.

“That, and there may be something of use within the library,” Mark added. “Maybe even a way to get out of here.”

“I'd say that's more wishful thinking than anything,” Melissa said. “But what have we got to lose?”

“Exactly,” Mark said. He smiled widely. “That's the spirit. Let's get moving!”

The pair quickly departed from outside the central building, and followed the pathway to the library.

“You know,” Mark said as they walked. “I used to hate going to the library when I was a kid.”

“Really?” Melissa replied.

“Yeah,” Mark said. “The thought of reading used to be enough to set me off into a temper tantrum for hours.” He let out a light chuckle. “I couldn't stand the idea of there not being any pictures.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. “I used to detest picture books. They never gave the same satisfaction that words did.” She paused for a moment as they continued down the path. “I guess I liked to imagine my own version of things.”

“I can see that in your writing for sure,” Mark said. “The imagination you'd need to come up with some of the things that happen.” He feigned a miserable face. “Especially Chapter Twenty of the third book. Only someone on a different wave-length would imagine what you did…”

Melissa laughed lightly. “Oh, so I see yet another mourner of the Sharp Launch,” she said teasingly.

“Mourner?” Mark replied. “You killed the main character off so unceremoniously in the middle of an insignificant event!”

“It was a portrayal of how nobody's life is like a story,” Melissa said. “In fact, Nasha's back-story detailed perfectly how she always wanted her life to be like a book.” She looked at a bee that lazily flew by. “It seemed fittingly poignant for her fate to rest within a burning library. Really, it was just basic foreshadowing.”

“But everyone loved Nasha!” Mark protested. He let out an exasperated huff. “No matter what you say, I refuse to see it as anything but a ploy designed to rip open the hearts of anyone that reads it.” He gasped suddenly. “That's what the library here reminds me of!” he exclaimed.

“Oh?” Melissa said.

“Just look,” Mark said, motioning down the path. Melissa looked to see the library standing there. “The large traditional brickwork echoes the Launch, doesn't it?”

“Remove the tacky sign and maybe,” Melissa said, glaring at the giant book sign on the front of the building. “It's ridiculous to think that I found that thing enamouring on the first day.”

“We were all like kids let loose into Disneyworld,” Mark said. “I think we can forgive you for that.”

“Yeah,” Melissa said as they reached the front doors. “Only at Disneyworld, the mascot isn't hell-bent on despair.” She pushed on the door, and the pair entered the library.

**The library holds an impressive selection of over one million titles ranging from bestselling contemporary fiction to the Greek Classics to newspaper archives dating back as far as possible. In addition, we have several state-of-the-art computers with 24/7 access to all the major literary databases in order to keep the library up to date. Students can feel free to use the library as a place of study with dedicated sections for specialised subject areas tailored specifically for each Enhanced Talent Level.**

“Whoa,” Mark said as they stood in the entrance. The library had a large open interior with rows and rows of bookshelves. In the middle of it all was a clearing which contained several tables, chairs, and benches. Additionally, some of the desks had computers on top of them. “This is certainly impressive.”

“You can say that again,” Melissa said, barely containing her excitement. “It's like a bookworm's Nirvana!” Giddy, she rushed over to the nearest bookshelf and pulled out a large-looking book. “No way… they really have this!”

“What?” Mark said, walking towards her. “By any chance, is it _How to Bust Out of a Prestigious Academy Governed by a Hyper-Sadist Stuffed Bear's Murder Game_?”

“Unfortunately not,” Melissa said. Her eyes were wide with delight. “But it is my all-time favourite novel series! It's so obscure I was worried it wouldn't be here… but it is!”

“That's great,” Mark said wanly. He looked around at the towering maze of bookshelves. “I wonder if there's a clue on how to get out in here though.”

“With this information, there's bound to be,” Melissa said. “It's just a case of finding the relevant information.”

“That might take a while then,” Mark said. “There have to be millions of books here. It'd take months to find anything, even for you.”

“I suppose,” Melissa sighed. “Unless the computers have a search index.”

“But there's no internet,” Mark said.

“That shouldn't be a problem,” Melissa said. “The list should be saved as a file, so we just open it up and search through it. It just won't update if someone takes a book out, not that that'll be an issue.” A wide grin crossed her face. “Oh, I can't wait to start reading!”

“Hey hey hey! Didn't anyone teach you bastards the rule of silence in the library?!” Without any warning, Monobear suddenly sprang up from behind a bookshelf. Melissa let out a shriek, dropping the book to the floor. “And don't defile such sacred literature! I ought to punish you for this!”

“Monobear?” Mark asked. “What's gotten you so riled up?”

“Is it the incident with Ella this morning?” Melissa asked.

“Bingo!” Monobear exclaimed. “A million dollars for you, Miss ETL Author! Too bad you can't access your bank account from here though!”

“Did you really come here just to vent about this morning?” Mark asked.

“Not entirely!” Monobear chirped. “I also came to explain to you oh-so-doting students how this library functions!”

“I think I have that covered,” Melissa said. “There's of course the rudimentary alphabetisation on the shelves, and presumably a digital index.”

“Correct!” Monobear said. “But you haven't mentioned the library's secret!”

“Secret?” Mark asked.

“Oh boy,” Melissa said dryly.

“Now, to uncover this secret, all you have to do is say the password!” Monobear said. He looked up at the ceiling. “Hajime Hinata's ass is deserving of cult worship!”

“What the…?!” Mark exclaimed. Before he could continue, there was a sudden tremble in the ground. He and Melissa looked to the middle of the clearing as a half-black half-white shelf erected itself. The shelf was filled with identical copies of the same book.

“What is this?” Melissa said aloud.

“Look for yourselves!” Monobear cheered.

“Uh, okay…” Mark said, walking up to the shelf. He grabbed the book and looked at the cover. “ _Fifty Shades of Despair: An Autobiographical Memoir of the Life and Love of Monobear_?!” His face contorted in disgust. “What is this?!”

“Don't you like the next literary masterpiece?” Monobear asked.

“Hell no!” Mark exclaimed. “I wouldn't go near a piece of trash like this!”

“Oh, _I'm_ the trash?” Monobear teased. “Well, I have the authority to change your title from ETL Reporter to ETL Trash Bastard!”

“And what would you gain from that?” Mark exclaimed. “What importance do any of our titles hold now?”

“Upupu… upupu…” Monobear giggled. “Why, nothing you bastards need to concern yourselves with. Yet, anyway.”

“Anyway…” Melissa began. “What does that mean?”

“Er… well…” Monobear faltered. “I'd have to say the worst thing is when you go to a restaurant and you order a pasta dish with oregano, but what you actually get is basil. In fact, that's just as bad as sneaking in another herb that you wouldn't go near with a fifty-foot pole!”

“Uh… what?” Mark said. “I'm not following.”

“Aaanyway,” Monobear sang. “One last thing about this library is that you have to check out any book you wish to read at the Monobear desk, where you shall also receive a deadline for its return. And since I'm such a generous bear, I've decided to place it at twelve minutes!”

“Nobody can read a book in twelve minutes!” Melissa protested.

“Well, there is _one_ way you can extend your deadline without breaking a rule,” Monobear said.

“And you and I both know what that is!” He twirled around on the spot, his red eye glowing. “And that's all from me for now! Have fun in this place of literary excellence! Upupu…” And with that, Monobear vanished.

_Beep-beep!_

**New Rule: All books borrowed from the library must be returned within twelve minutes. If not, you will be treated as a thief and punished accordingly. Of course, this rule will be negated if you kill somebody.**

“Ugh, suddenly I don't feel like sticking around,” Melissa said solemnly. “It's a real shame, considering how much I was looking forward to this place.”

“Well, Monobear can make anything fun into a disaster,” Mark sighed. “It's making me dread going to the film studio.”

“But look at the bright side,” Melissa said. “There's not much there that Monobear could exploit for a rule, so hopefully it won't be ruined like the library.”

Mark frowned. “I'll have to give you the benefit of the doubt there.”

“Come on,” Melissa said, smiling. “This is the reason why you came here. Let's make the best of it.”

-

**The garden of Sun's Joy Academy boasts a proud selection of over two thousand types of flower, ninety types of tree, and sixty different types of fruit and vegetable.**

“It seemed to promise more in the brochure,” Carlos said meekly as he and Charlie walked through the gardens. It was basically a long, winding path, lined by flowerbeds and archways with vines growing up them. A little further back were a couple of fields. Only one had anything growing in it: a few small saplings. Bees buzzed around like crazy, flitting from one flower to the next.

“I don't mind,” Charlie said. “It's still a beautiful place.”

“Even knowing that Monobear is behind it?”

Charlie shook her head. “This isn't Monobear,” she said simply. “This garden is too peaceful, too innocent, for him to have touched.” She bent down to look at a small pink flower. “Besides,” she continued. “This academy was built in advance. Monobear simply took over when it was complete.”

“What makes you so sure?” Carlos asked.

“There is life here,” Charlie said. “And where there's life there's hope. This garden stands for everything Monobear opposes.”

Carlos stared at her for a moment, taken aback by her strong-willed words.

“At least, that's what I think,” Charlie said, shying away as Carlos looked at her.

“I think it's a good thing to think,” Carlos said as they continued down the path. “It's better than buying into the despair.”

“Yeah…” Charlie said, a solemn look crossing her face. It was obvious what she was thinking about: Shauna and Ella's murder of Andrew. _It's in the past_ , Carlos told himself. _Don't let it get you down._

They walked on in silence for a while, listening to the calls of seagulls and the distant sound of the waves lapping against the island. It still seemed impossible to think that somebody had decided to build a school here.

As they continued, Carlos noticed that the lush vegetation was wearing out. “Look,” he said, pointing to a row of empty flowerbeds.

“I guess this is where they got to,” Charlie said. “Before… before Monobear came.”

“I guess,” Carlos said.

“Wait,” Charlie suddenly said. “What's that?”

She pointed to the far end of the path, where a large storage shed was. Next to it was some kind of massive flower, adorned with vibrant, colourful leaves. “It looks cool,” Carlos said. “Wanna take a closer look?”

“Of course,” Charlie said.

“Then let's go!” Carlos announced. Charlie reached out and grabbed his hand, and they hurried down the path. As they ran, Carlos let a smile cross his face. For just this moment, at least, he could forget about their situation. Forget about the killing. Forget about—

Charlie's shrieks of terror brought him back to reality.

Without warning, the large flower had come to life as they approached it; the head of it snapped forward, looking akin to a huge, gaping jaw. Charlie was on the floor, trembling. The hem of her cardigan had been torn as a result, and her face was white.

“What is that?!” Carlos exclaimed, leaping back as the plant decided to try and take a bite out of him.

“It's…” Charlie whimpered, freezing up again. “L-like a…”

“…Venus Flytrap? Is that what you were going to say?”

Both Carlos and Charlie looked on in a mixture of terror and disbelief as Monobear appeared on top of the hell-plant, lounging lazily atop the unhinged jaw. A tongue made out of some oddly coloured vine protruded, emitting some kind of fluid that was almost definitely toxic.

Carlos bristled. “M-Monobear?!”

“The one and only!” the bear jeered. “Anyway, what's with you two? You look like a young couple on their wedding night when they find out that there's a pervert with a video camera inside the closet!”

Carlos ignored the bizarre comment, and helped Charlie to her feet. “What is this?!”

“Oh, you mean my sweetling?” Monobear cooed, stroking the demented flora. “Why, it's my very own patented MonoPlant!”

“I-impossible…” Charlie stuttered. “A Venus Flytrap can't grow like that… it's a scientific impossibility…”

“Eh, whatever,” Monobear said with a shrug. “When you have the SHS—I mean, _ETL_ Botanist under your thumb, some pretty crazy things can happen!”

“H-how…?” Charlie asked, trying desperately to find some kind of courage. Carlos held onto her even harder, hoping, madly enough, that he could somehow protect her.

“The details kinda bored me,” Monobear said. “Probably some kinda gene splicing and hardcore irradiation involved. No biggie.”

“But why would you do it?” Charlie asked. “A plant this size can't possibly sustain itself in this kind of environment! There is no food source large enough to keep it alive!”

“I think you're mistaken there, Miss ETL Gardener,” Monobear said, his red eye flashing. “The carcass of a homosapien can provide quite the nourishment, surprisingly.”

Charlie went white and Carlos felt his breakfast returning. “N-no…” he managed to splutter out. “You didn't… it's not where…”

“…Where the remains of Andrew and Shauna ended up?” Monobear finished. “No siree! Why would I waste such prime remains on a dumb _plant_! They're perfectly secure in some freezers in a top-secret location. Well, there wasn't much left of Shauna to put in there, though… upupu!”

“But then…” Carlos said, faltering. “How are you…?”

“You know,” Monobear said. “There sure were a lot of teachers at this academy. Seventy or so, I think?”

“Oh my God…” Carlos said, overcome with pure terror. “You're feeding it the dead bodies of the teachers…”

“Ding ding ding! You are correct!” Monobear chirped. “Excellent deduction skills there, Mr ETL Blogger. Keep it up, and I'm sure you'll uncover the culprit of the next trial in no time at all!” He then smiled darkly. “Unless you're the culprit, or even the victim… upupu!”

“S-stop,” Charlie suddenly said. “You're a monster…”

“Oh, _I'm_ the monster?” Monobear said scathingly. “Remind me again: who was it that decided to end the life of Andrew? Was it me, or was it you bastards?”

“I…” Charlie said, freezing up.

“Only because you pressured Ella and Shauna into it!” Carlos snapped. “If you hadn't trapped us in that building, and said all those terrible things, then none of this would have happened!”

“Murder is murder,” Monobear said grimly. “The motive and circumstances don't matter; at the end of the day, one human has taken the life of another. Innocent or guilty; there is no grey area. Only black and white.” Monobear stared chillingly at the pair for a moment, before letting out an ear-piercing giggle. “Kinda like me!”

“Just shut up!” Carlos yelled. “They were our _friends_!”

“Friends, huh?” Monobear said. “And what about if _you_ had been the target? In your final moments, as the puppet drove the knife into your flesh, would you have thought any differently about your _friends_?”

Carlos found himself speechless, overcome with a feeling of what could only be described as a mixture of disgust, shame, and fear. _Despair._

“…It won't work.”

Carlos looked in surprise to see Charlie staring at Monobear coldly. “What you're trying to do; trying to create a rift of fear and distrust between us… it won't work.”

“Charlie…” Carlos said.

“Oh?” Monobear said. “Has the ETL Gardener's inner strength suddenly blossomed before our very eyes?”

Charlie didn't acknowledge the comment. “Your manipulation of us was built on fear and confusion,” she added. “That was… that was the only reason… why Ella and Shauna…” Charlie swiped away tears. “They were frightened and confused.”

Monobear looked nonplussed. “Uh-huh,” he said. “And your point is?”

“My point is that your tactics won't work again,” Charlie said. “Everyone here is closer now; we _trust_ each other. And you can't destroy something like trust so simply.”

“This is precious,” Monobear snarled. “Especially since it's coming from the person who attended with the intention to avoid the other students out of _distrust_.”

Charlie froze. “No… I…” She looked at Carlos pleadingly, almost afraid of what would come from Monobear's mouth next.

“What? You're afraid I'll spill something?” Monobear said venomously. “Well don't worry! Your big secret – the fact that you take medication daily to deal with crippling anxiety and depression that pushed away all your old friends from childhood – is one hundred percent safe with me! I won't tell a soul!”

It was as if in that one moment all the life was sucked out of the world. Charlie stared listlessly into space, trembling softly. Monobear laughed loudly, but the sound seemed to be muffled through a foggy cloud of grey. Carlos looked on in silence, willing himself to say something, _anything._

“Ch-Charlie…” he started, but the words were swallowed up as he looked at her. In this moment he could see her for what she really was, a small delicate, beautiful vase, riddled with concealed cracks that could tear her apart at a moment's notice. Fragile. Delicate. _Vulnerable._

“Upupu!” Monobear giggled. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!” He slid off behind the plant, and vanished.

The moment the bear disappeared, Carlos saw small droplets fall from Charlie's face onto the ground. Feeling a sharp ache in his chest, Carlos took a step towards her. Charlie merely shook her head. “I-I'm sorry…” she whimpered. She balled her hands into fists in a vain attempt to control her shaking.

Carlos just stood next to Charlie for a while, pretending not to hear the small sniffles as the emotional volcano erupted. Pretending that she was fine.

“She said I would be fine,” Charlie whispered. Carlos turned his head to face her, but made no move to approach. She also looked at him; her face glistened with tears and her blue eyes were red and hurt. “My therapist. We'd made such good progress; she said that I'd be okay with just the drugs.” Another loud sob came from her mouth. “I thought I could forget about it.”

“Charlie,” Carlos said softly, unsure but certain that he had to make her feel better. Somehow. “This thing? It's just a thing. You're still the same person you were ten minutes ago.” The words felt hollow, and Carlos knew why. The same thought kept reverberating around his head; the same toxic, damaging thought. _The girl I have a crush on is mentally ill._

Before, Carlos had always thought of mental illness as institutions and schizophrenics in cells scribbling cryptic drawings on the walls that _the voices_ had told them to. Mental illness was dangerous. It wasn't a gentle teenage girl with soft brown hair and round blue eyes who spoke softly.

 _I don't know anything,_ Carlos realised with a start as he looked at Charlie. How could he? Mental illness didn't exist in his world; it felt like a blindfold had been removed from his eyes, and he was finally seeing things for what they were. But as he looked upon this world he wasn't aware existed, Carlos realised that he lacked the words and sensations to describe it. He was at a loss, unsure of what to think or what to do.

“I… I…” Carlos tried to say, but guilt choked him up. What could he do? He couldn't take these problems away. There was only one thing he could do. “I'll be here for you, Charlie. I can't do much else, but I'll do that.”

Charlie looked at him, her eyes misted over with a sadness that physically hurt to see. An instant later, she took a deep breath, and the same gentle, docile expression that Carlos had been accustomed to returned. She squeezed his hand softly. “That's enough,” she said in a soft voice. “Just… _please_ , don't think any differently of me…”

“I won't,” Carlos replied. “Of course I won't.”

“And please don't tell the others,” Charlie said. “I just… I don't want it to be a part of me that affects me here. I made a promise to start over when I came here; I can't just ignore that, can I?”

“N-no…” Carlos said. “I won't say anything. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Charlie said. She suddenly pulled Carlos in for a hug and gripped on tightly. “And I promise you I'll try to get through it. The less despair there is for Monobear to exploit, the better.”

-

**The pool may be one of the less flashy facilities, but that doesn't mean any less love and attention has been put into it. Featuring a fully-functioning temperature control, three store rooms of pool equipment, and a wave machine, this building is every water-lover's dream!**

“Honestly, this is so sappy I literally cannot tell if Monobear wrote this or not,” Chelsea said as she flicked through her ElectroID. “Like honestly, get a load of this.”

“Wow,” Naomi said, cringing as she read the text. “I'm no Melissa, but even _I_ can tell this is terrible!”

“Terrible or not, this is why I'm here,” Joel said uneasily. He leaned against the wall as the others took in the foyer. “I mean, it's kinda awful if you think about it. I'm here on my ability to save lives; kinda pointless unless someone could die.”

“Yeah, no fucking way am I going to almost drown for you, beach-boy,” Chelsea said, scrutinising some posters on the wall. “Besides, class has been cancelled for like ever possibly.”

“That's the thing, isn't it?” Nina said, crossing her arms. “If we do somehow manage to stop Monobear, and Sun's Joy opens up again… who's actually going to attend?”

“If I survive to see that day, count me out,” Chelsea said. “I'd only ever return here to see the campus burn.”

“Maybe I would've,” Naomi said. “Until things got hella screwed-up with Shauna and Andy. I… I don't think I could comfortably study here.”

“I might,” Nina said quietly. “I mean, after a lot of therapy and maybe with high-alert security. But… I might. Screwed-up as it sounds, the scholarship here's still the best bet for a good future.”

“Same here, I suppose...” Joel added. “When you've got a big family… the opportunities this place could give would really help out.”

“It does say you like family on your ElectroID,” Chelsea said. “Care to elaborate?”

“I grew up as the second eldest of seven kids,” Joel said. “But my older sister… she got real sick a couple years back. Left her stuck in a wheelchair, plus she needs a whole bunch of medical equipment in the house that costs nearly a million dollars a year; it'll get worse until we can afford treatment. Mom and Dad work three jobs each; all the kids over ten have some kind of job or other. Hell, I worked as the lifeguard for four of the main pools in my city. Barely keeps us going; never mind treatment, we can just about pay the bills.” He sighed and scanned over a pool safety sign. “My goal is to be the lifeguard for the Olympics; that kind of money should really help out.”

“Jesus, man… I never knew,” Chelsea said. “Feels kinda shitty and selfish attending just to get a step ahead of the rest of the competition in the dancing world.”

“Don't feel bad,” Joel said. “You had no way of knowing anyone else's motivations for attending. Life just works like that.”

Chelsea remained silent for a moment. “Still,” she finally said. “If I'd have known… I don't know… I would have funded some money, or something…” She sat in one of the plastic blue chairs that lined the wall. “Man…”

“Honestly, let's not turn this into a guilt trip or something,” Joel said.

“He's right,” Nina added quietly. “We still haven't fully explored the place yet.”

Naomi rolled up to the reception desk. “Hey, there are some keys back here,” she said as she leaned over and reached into one of the drawers. The others turned their attention to her as she retrieved two keys. “This one says 'men', and the other says 'women'.”

“They'll be for the changing rooms,” Joel said. He glanced up at the nearest surveillance camera. “You know, because our privacy is so important here.”

“Hey! I resent that! I give you bastards at least five times more privacy than a high-security penitentiary would!” Suddenly Monobear was lounging on the desk. Naomi yelped and backed up.

“How the hell can you do that?!” she cried.

Monobear stood up and waddled along the top of the desk. “Magic, science, the power of pure despair… take your pick.” He shrugged. “Anyway, you bastards are trying to derail me!”

“Like we care about you enough for that, you shit-eating bear,” Chelsea said as she folded her arms.

“Slander and libel!” Monobear snapped. “I'll have you know I only feed shit to my Monobeasts! I dine exclusively on the highest-quality cuisine!” An artificial groan erupted from his stomach and he drooped his head. “If only someone had thought to enrol an ETL Chef… oh, how I mourn for what could have been.”

“What was that about derailing?” Nina said. Monobear's red eye flashed. She raised an eyebrow in response. “You seem to be the one caught up in lamenting there not being an ETL Chef.”

“Well, I'm only a simple bear!” Monobear growled. “It's only expected that I get led astray by the vile temptations you bastards dangle in front of my face!”

“Get to the point,” Chelsea groaned. “I'm this close to killing myself just to shut you up.”

“Oh?” Monobear tilted his head. “And how would you do that? Seppuku? Hanging? OD?”

“I'd tackle you to the ground and snap your neck,” she replied without missing a beat. “I'm fairly certain your wonderful punishments would be pretty efficient at putting me out of my misery.”

“Upupu,” Monobear laughed. “You really think I only have the one body? Oh man, that's hilarious!”

“I never said that,” Chelsea said. “I'd just want _this_ particular body to shut the fuck up. And yeah, it'd be a shame for me to die in a clear-cut way in front of so many witnesses so that you can't use me as the next leg of your quasi-courtroom murder game, but them's the breaks.”

“You know, you bastards are the most insufferable bunch of teens I've ever had to work with,” Monobear drawled. “Here I am, trying to offer you some friendly advice about abiding by gender restrictions, and you just have to angst the place up!” He mimed gagging, accompanied by disturbingly realistic sound effects. “Blegh! It's not even despair. Not even fake despair! It's just garbage, is what it is!”

“Whoa, whoa, rewind,” Naomi said. “Gender restrictions?”

“Hella yes!” Monobear replied in an obvious mockery of Naomi's speech style. “Gold star for the ETL Skater! You are the most valued student, or MVS, of the minute!” He clapped for a few seconds, lost in a dance nobody could follow, before facing them all again. “Anywho, the gender restrictions are quite simple,” Monobear explained. “Boys can use the men's room, and girls the women's. Anyone try otherwise and it's a Gatling gun to the face!”

“Hang on,” Nina said. “That's all well and good, but what about people who—”

“One step ahead of you!” Monobear chirped. “You bastards are all certifiably comfortable living and identifying as the gender you entered the school with, so there'll be no last-minute crossdressing reveals! God knows I've had enough of _that…_ ” He folded his arms. “So before anyone tries to argue technicalities about junk in the trunk, it's what your ElectroID says that matters. Anyway, that's about it, so feel free to have a pleasant swim! And if you get up to indecent activities… just make sure you consider your position in relation to the cameras! Upupu…”

He left as suddenly as he came. Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment for a few moments.

Nina was the first to speak. “I mean, at least the bear's gender-inclusive?” she said, uncertain of her words even as she spoke them. “That's a plus… right?”

“Right now, gender doesn't mean shit, though,” Chelsea said. “I'll happily take up an alien gender and expression if it means getting out of here. Plus, you know, our 'angst' is enough for the little shit. I think he'd just line us all up in front of an ursine firing squad if he had to deal with a few of us being, like, dysphoric or whatever.”

“Local murderbear can't deal with his hostages having too many teen issues, but hey, at least he isn't transphobic,” Naomi said mockingly. “Social justice clickbait headline of the century, right there.”

“And you know this… how?” Joel asked.

Naomi shrugged. “The things I suffer for my aesthetic,” she said.

“Anyway… do you want to go check out the pool now?” Nina said. “We should be free from any more Monobear intrusions for a little while, at least.”

“That is why we're here,” Chelsea said. She looked at the changing room doors and put on a wry smile. “I suppose nobody wants to go for a dip?”

Naomi's face scrunched up. “Right now I'd sooner never see another drop of water again,” she said. “I don't even want to go near those changing rooms.”

“Is there not another way through to the pool?” Nina asked, turning to Joel.

Joel stepped forward. “Hold on,” he said. He walked over to the reception desk, then pushed aside a pile of boxes against the wall, revealing a door. “Ah-ha.”

“And… what is that?” Chelsea asked.

“Maintenance room,” Joel said. “It's how the staff get around when they don't wanna deal with half-dressed swimmers.”

“I don't know,” Naomi said. “Something about seeing people in their swimsuits sounds awful tempting…”

“They're all flabby, pasty, and middle-aged,” Joel said. “Sorry, but there aren't any Hollywood Golden Coast fantasy bodies for you to find. Just sag and wrinkles.”

“Ew? Too much information?” Naomi said.

Joel laughed. “You asked.” He pulled open the door. “Anyway, let's see what we're being offered here.”

The others followed him through into the storage room, their eyes taking in as much as possible.

“It's… kinda roomy, right?” Nina asked.

“I suppose,” Joel said. “But everything about the school's been a little over the top, right?”

The storage room was just a little smaller than the size of a dorm room, lined with shelves containing pool toys, wetsuits, cardboard boxes, and even surfboards. At the far side of the room was a door that led to the pool itself.

“Is all this really necessary?” Chelsea asked as she opened one of the boxes to reveal a bunch of T-shirts with the Sun's Joy Academy logo and motto on it. To emphasise, she lifted one of the shirts out with a grimace. “Really?”

“It makes you wonder if this place would have felt more like a school or an amusement park,” Nina mused as she grabbed another box and expertly opened it. “...Water bottles?” Inside were rows of identical water bottles, branded similarly to the shirts. “Why?”

“Maybe for vending machines?” Naomi offered, grabbing a surfboard from the shelf. “Like, what kind of pool _is_ this?”

“A damn good one,” Joel muttered, digging out a set of whistles adorned with pale blue lanyards. “I think that's pretty much it for the storage room.”

“Pool time!” Nina said with a light laugh. “Come on!”

“Actually…” Chelsea said, folding her arms. “It's already noon, and I'd kinda like to check out the dance hall without worrying about the time. Mind if I go on ahead?”

“Sure,” Joel said. “Why would you need to ask us?”

Chelsea sighed. “Not to be a bummer, but there's still the whole murder game going on,” she said. “I think it's a good idea to get into the habit of making sure we know where everyone is until we get the hell out of here.”

“If it makes you feel better, I'll tag along,” Naomi added. “The skate park's in the same direction, and it beats heading over there alone.”

“That cool with you guys?” Chelsea asked.

“Go ahead,” Nina said. “Meet up at the cafeteria later?”

“Sure,” Naomi said with a wink. “Catch ya then!” She started moving towards the door. Chelsea took a step in the same direction, then stopped.

“Good luck,” she called back. “Hope you find something useful.”

“You too,” Joel said. Then, as Chelsea and Naomi walked through the door, “Stay safe.”

-

**Sizeable, spacious, and certifiably cutting-edge, the dance hall at Sun's Joy Academy is ready to accommodate any promising dancer looking to make their mark on the world.**

“I mean, I guess it's okay,” Chelsea said with a shrug. “I've practised _and_ performed at better places.”

“Huh? Really?” Naomi muttered, scrolling through her ElectroID's screen. “I thought it was pretty impressive.”

“I tried it out on the first day,” Chelsea said, folding her arms as she looked at the dance hall's entrance. “Not bad. Would've sufficed, if not for the fact that class is cancelled forever.”

Naomi sighed. “I can't believe I missed that!” she said. “I was too busy schmoozing when I could have seen the ETL Ballerina in action! At least promise to perform for me when we get out of here, okay?”

“No promises,” Chelsea said. “Can't say for sure that nobody's gonna kill again.”

“But after what happened with Andy… and Shauna…” Naomi said. “Nobody would—”

Chelsea shook her head. “You can't know that for sure,” she said. “We know the stakes now; the fear of the unknown is eliminated.” Uneasily, she looked around. “How confidently can you really say nobody's already planning to kill again?”

“W-what?” Naomi said, going pale. There was a sudden chill to the air. “That's…”

“Unbelievable?” Chelsea said with a wry smile. “As unbelievable as two people piloting a puppet to shank Andrew? Really?” She laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.

“But… these are our friends. We can trust them,” Naomi said. “We know each other now. They wouldn't… _we_ wouldn't…”

“Believe me, I want to trust everyone, too,” Chelsea said. “But not yet. Not until we're out of here.”

“Still, who could really go through with killing someone?” Naomi retorted. “You know how the trials go… who would be _evil_ enough to kill someone and not care about that risk?”

“I can think of one person,” Chelsea said. Her expression turned grim. “Perhaps the killer among us? Shauna wasn't the only one who killed Andrew, you know.”

Naomi had nothing to say to that. She looked to the ground with a frown on her face.

“So long as Ella's still here, nobody's safe,” Chelsea continued. “Be it revenge or madness, there's no way she won't try to kill again.”

“I hope that's not an admission that you're planning on killing her, Chelsea.”

Chelsea spun her head around. “Huh?”

Walking down the path that led to the main building, hands in his pockets, was Dirk. “Because if that's the case, we'll have to take preventative measures.” He stopped by Naomi and gave a shrug. “I don't think you'd appreciate having your freedom cut short just to make sure we all get out of here alive, would you?”

“Dirk,” Chelsea said with venom. “Why are you here?”

“Exploring,” Dirk said. He took one hand out of his pocket and tapped something into his PDA. “Enjoying not being trapped in murder-motive ground zero.” He looked over to Naomi. “You all right?”

Naomi mustered a weak nod. “Yeah,” she said. “Just… it's hard to keep positive and feel safe, you know?”

“What's there to worry about?” Dirk replied. “Monobear can't interfere directly, and nobody's playing his game any more, so we're pretty much as safe as possible.”

“Uh huh,” Chelsea said. “And where is _she?_ ”

Dirk rolled his eyes. “Relocated. Safe. Not telling you where,” he said. “At least, not until everyone gets over whatever grudges they may hold.”

“Grudges?!” Chelsea snapped. “She _killed_ someone! How is not wanting a literal murderer on campus comparable to a fucking _grudge?!_ ”

“So you want her dead. Is that it?” Dirk said with a smirk. “Although, if you do, there's no way you'll make it past the school trial. I can promise you that much.”

“Gh!” Chelsea took a step back with a horrified expression on her face before turning to Naomi. “Come on, let's go. I don't want to spend another second around this killer-sympathiser.” She turned around and began to walk towards the dance hall. Naomi remained still. “I said, come _on_.”

“Chelsea…” Naomi began. “I don't want it to be like this.”

“Like what?”

Tears bunched in the corners of Naomi's eyes. “Like _this!_ ” she snapped. “All this fighting and distrust and… _hate!_ It's not gonna get us outta here, it's not gonna bring us closer together… it's not going to do _anything_ but make us afraid of each other!” She paused, letting out a choked sob.

“N-Naomi…” Chelsea said, taking a tentative step towards her. Dirk lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, _fuck off already_ ,” she snarled.

“Don't—” Naomi began, but was cut off by a sudden sound.

“Upupu… upupu… bwaHAHAHA!!”

All at once, Monobear stood in the middle of the path, clutching his stomach. Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes and an obnoxious grin hovered on his face. “Oh man, oh man! This despair… how exquisite! You bastards are a real riot, ya know?”

Dirk rolled his eyes. “What.”

“Don't sass me, Mr ETL Hacker!” Monobear snapped. “Can't a bear enjoy some good-old-fashioned free-range despair any more? Or have we truly fallen into the dark ages of despair vegans… how woeful!” Monobear drooped his head and let out multiple consecutive sighs.

“Uh…” Dirk began with a disgusted grimace. “Why are you here in person?” he said. “Pretty sure you can see our despair or whatever from the surveillance cameras.”

“I _could_ , but screwing with you bastards live is the best part of this gig!” Monobear replied, tilting his head playfully. Then, just as suddenly, his head drooped. “Let a bear live, why don't you!”

“What do you want,” Dirk said. “Come to create another arbitrary rule or something else to waste our time?”

“Upupu…” Monobear giggled. His red eye flashed. “Something like that,” he explained. “Mostly, I just wanted to get a front-row seat to this choice cut of despair. I mean, seriously! I didn't even need to give any of you bastards any kind of push to get these rifts rolling!”

“So suddenly Andrew's murder and Shauna's execution aren't 'pushes'?” Dirk asked, folding his arms.

“Christ alive!” Monobear cried out. “You're still hung up on that? That's _so_ last story-arc! Get with the times! Greener pastures, new opportunities, hope, despair, yadda yadda yadda.”

“It literally happened yesterday,” Dirk said. “Also, not being an emotionally stunted robotic bear kinda gets in the way of instantly moving on.”

“Ugh, I'm—” Monobear paused, baring his claws as sweat beaded on his head and his red eye blinked again. “You know what? No, we're not doing this. I'm a bear with standards, damn it! I don't need to defend my existence to you!”

“So what would you call this little pitiful display right here?” Dirk asked, deadpan.

“I'm not a friggin' robot! I'm Monobear!” Monobear shrieked. “End of story! Goodbye! All of you are welcome to take a short walk into a cyanide-laced meat grinder!” With another huff, Monobear vanished.

“Oh my God,” Dirk said, rubbing his temples. “What kind of bees does he have up _his_ bonnet?”

“I don't follow,” Naomi said, a confused look dawning on her face. “What was the point of that?”

“To derail from our original conversation,” Chelsea said bitterly. “Which still stands, by the way.”

“Do you really want to risk summoning Monobear again?” Dirk said. “Are your personal misgivings and grief really worth that? _Really?_ ”

“…” Chelsea folded her arms and turned away. “I don't need to justify myself to _you_ ,” she said.

“No, you don't,” Dirk replied. “Just don't do anything dumb.”

“Whatever,” Chelsea said. She turned away from the dance hall and started to walk back to the central building. “I'm not in the mood to explore any more. You guys do whatever.” And with that, she walked away.

“Man…” Naomi said. “This day just keeps getting worse.” She frowned. “And we were all so stoked to explore earlier!”

“I wouldn't take it too personally,” Dirk said. “Chelsea'll come around. You can't blame her for finding this whole situation hard to cope with.”

“I guess not…” Naomi looked away for a moment, in thought. “Before you came, she was on about another murder happening… I guess she's like, hella afraid, but doesn't want to show it, you know?”

“Probably,” Dirk said. “I'm no John but that sounds right.”

“I hope she feels better soon,” Naomi said. “It's gotta suck being _that_ afraid.”

“It's understandable.” Dirk gave another shrug.

“Hey, Dirk,” Naomi said. “Speaking of which, how's Ella doing? I know I said some bad things about her this morning, but I feel really bad about it, you know?”

“I understand,” Dirk said. “And I'll say the same as before, she's somewhere safe and somewhere secret. It's for the best that nobody knows where she is, if only to minimise the risk of her turning into the next victim.”

“Oh,” Naomi sighed. “When you next see her could you at least let her know that I feel all kinds of bad for siding with team execution this morning.”

“Ella isn't really holding any grudges, but sure, I'll pass the message along,” Dirk said with a small smile. “Anyway, I've got some free time on my hands, so is there anywhere you wanna check out? If that's cool with you, of course.”

“Well, Chelsea and I were gonna head to the skate park before… well, you know,” Naomi said. “And we're not really supposed to be moving around alone…”

“I'll come with, if you don't mind?” Dirk offered. “Skate parks are pretty cool. Even if it's not really my forte, you've gotta admire the aesthetic of the place, right?”

Immediately, Naomi's eyes lit up. “Really?! You'll come with me?!” She gasped, practically jumping up and down on the spot. “That's hella rad of you, Dirk!”

Dirk let out a dry laugh. “Don't mention it,” he said. “Anything to keep everyone safe. Besides, who knows what we'll find there? I wouldn't put it past Monobear to hide something like a critical document in such an innocuous place.”

“Skate park time! Whoo!” Before Dirk had even finished talking, Naomi rushed down the path, her skates kicking up dust. Dirk walked along the tracks she made with a faint smile on his face as her excited screams echoed through the warm tropical air. It was almost enough to forget the reality of the situation they were in.

Almost.

-

**Out of sight, but definitely not out of mind, the film studio boasts top-of-the-range camera and sound equipment, the best computers and editing software, and cutting-edge recording studios. If you have a creative vision, the sky's your limit!**

“I feel like there's definitely a certain layer of irony to these ElectroID descriptions,” Melissa mused as she and Mark stepped through the front door of the remote film studio, located at the northernmost corner of the campus. “I can't tell if this is either due to the dissonance between the vision being sold to us and the reality, or if this is yet another elaborate fabrication by Monobear.”

“Don't say his name,” Mark said with a grimace. “I'd like to be able to access this place unrestricted, thank you very much.”

Melissa smiled wanly. “I don't think you need to worry that much.”

“Oh?”

“Well, it's just that Monobear doesn't really have a reason to limit anyone's access to this place,” Melissa explained. “Unlike the library, where there's likely to be enough information to aid us in trying to escape.” She frowned. “And since there's no internet, I don't see how anything here could disrupt Monobear's game.”

“Maybe there's something on one of the hard drives?” Mark suggested.

Melissa shook her head. “I doubt it,” she said. “While Monobear may be obnoxious, he doesn't strike me as the carelessly haphazard type. If there were answers here, they're probably long gone by now.”

“Oh…” Mark said, deflating. “So I guess there's not much point in looking around, huh?”

“Not at all,” Melissa said. “At the end of the day, this place was built to cater to your ETL, so it's only fair you get a chance to look around.”

“I guess,” Mark said. “So, uh, where do we begin?”

The recording studio was a single-storey building with a large lounge-stroke-recreation room by the entrance. There were couches and vending machines here and there, alongside some beanbags around a large flat screen TV. Beneath that was a display unit containing what appeared to be a series of DVD players, video game consoles, and controllers.

“Weird that this would be here,” Melissa commented as she crouched down by the display unit, uncovering a stack of DVDs. “Surely this would be better off in the central building? I mean, it's a bit far to walk.”

“Unless…” Mark trailed off, walking over to the far side of the room where a curtain was drawn over the wall. He grabbed it and pulled it open, revealing a large green object. “Ah-ha!”

“A green screen?” Melissa asked. “So then, this place is…”

“It's a set,” Mark explained with a shine in his eyes. “This place probably doubles as a newsroom or something, or a…” Melissa smiled politely as Mark began listing off countless uses for this room.

“Um, anyway,” she eventually said. “That's all well and good, but where are the cameras?”

“Probably in another room,” Mark guessed, motioning to the hallway next to the lounge, and then to a door in the corner. “I'm guessing there's a storage room somewhere.”

“Probably,” Melissa said. “Although, it would be nice if there was an indicator of where everything is.”

Mark smirked. “Oh, like signposts?” he said, motioning to the sign above the door in the corner that read 'EQUIPMENT STORAGE'.

Melissa let out an awkward laugh, but kept her composure. “Yeah, something like that…” she said.

Mark walked up to the storage room door and opened it while Melissa hurried to catch up with him. Together, they both stepped inside. “Well…” Mark said, coming to a stop in the middle of the room. “This is…”

“…Something else?” Melissa finished. She stood in the doorway, arms folded. The storage room was lined with shelves filled to the brim with camera and recording equipment, and cables, microphones, and speakers were stacked in an attempt at neatness across the floor.

But there were two things that caught their attention. The first was a note stuck to the wall. Melissa grabbed it. “Hey dudes, sorry for the mess but Ella wanted to check things out before the whole refugee-in-hiding thing started applying…” she read with uncertainty. “And at Mark – there's an actual at sign written here? – you won't be disappointed with the sweet finds here, trust me. The recording studios are pretty damn hella. Signed, Dirk.” Melissa furrowed her brows in though. “So we're not the first ones here…”

“Yeah, I guess,” Mark said, half paying attention. “But why didn't Dirk mention… _that_?”

The 'that' in question was a large golden statue of Monobear situated in the middle of the room; the bear was posed to have one arm reaching around the back of his head and a bashful grin on his face. “Oh good God…” Melissa groaned.

“There's a plaque here,” Mark said, crouching down. “ _A Monobear Idol for our beloved Idol Monobear_.” He scrunched his face up in disgust. “Ugh. Now he's just messing with us.”

“Is that really solid gold?” Melissa asked, folding her arms. “Because if so, what a waste of wealth and resources.”

“Not to mention a waste of space,” Mark added. “Maybe we could get rid of it? Or at the very least, move it somewhere completely out of the way.”

“Wah-wah! If you think you can defile my sacred image like that, you're even more despair-inducingly stupid than I thought!”

“Oh, Monobear,” Mark said dryly, one hand still on the statue. “Of course.”

Melissa stood to the side as Monobear waddled through the doorway and up to the statue. “Why, I'm of right mind to forbid _anyone_ from doing anything that could jeopardise my good name!”

“You're not—” Melissa began.

_Beep-beep!_

**New Rule: Nobody may touch the Monobear Idol situated in the Film Studio. If you do so, you will forever be branded as an unwholesome blasphemer and then punished accordingly.**

“You are,” she finished, rolling her eyes. “You know, this is the most sloppily-written rule yet.”

Monobear rotated his entire head around to look back at Melissa. “You authors and your superiority complexes!” he growled. “Honestly, that shtick's even more tiring than when [REDACTED]!!!”

“How did you even make that sound…?” Melissa said falteringly.

“Whoops!” Monobear said, suddenly cheerful. “Guess I forgot to mention that I'm a one hundred percent spoiler-free bear! I'm all for the free exchange of information, but not when it ruins the pacing!” A light blush appeared on his cheeks.

“And, uh, your head's…” Melissa said. “What are you doing?”

“Anyway! Moving on!” Monobear said. In an instant, he spun his head another one-eighty degrees and focused on Mark, who was still touching the statue. Monobear raised his claws. “I'd get your filthy hands off my statue, Mr ETL Reporter, unless you'd like to be punished.”

Reflexively, Mark's hand left the statue and he backed up a few paces. “You know, your prerequisites for punishment are getting more and more ridiculous,” he said nervously. “Like, really, what's the point of punishing someone for touching a statue? Or borrowing a book?”

“Everyone's a critic these days!” Monobear said, faux-sighing. “In my prime, you bastards would just accept any old rule as reality and move on! Now, though, it's 'questioning' this and 'defying a perfectly loveable authority figure' that. If I didn't know better, I'd even go as far as to say that you all hate me!”

“We're still waiting on any kind of reason _not_ to hate you,” Mark said dryly. “Although I think you crossed the line when you led to two people dying.”

Monobear's eye flashed. “Ugh, are we still going back to that?!” he exclaimed, visibly growing irritated. “How many times do I need to tell you bastards that we're in a new era! Who cares about the last school trial! Who cares about the bastards that aren't with us any longer! Andrew and Shauna were totally bit-players who just screamed 'I'm not gonna be relevant past the first act' and managed to expend their entire character arcs like they'd never heard of a death flag before! Can we please just forget about it and move on!” He folded his stubby arms in a way that didn't quite seem possible. “I wouldn't even mind, but what those two did wasn't even enough to bring a single one of you bastards to despair… Pointless!”

“You're acting like it's somehow our fault for being affected,” Melissa said. “And can you stop referring to people and events as character arcs and story acts? It's needlessly insensitive and, to be honest, a waste of everyone's time.”

“Hey, I just call it like I see it,” Monobear said, waving one paw dismissively. “And maybe the point of this all is in fact to waste your time? Wouldn't that be a wonderfully despairing truth! Upupu~”

“In that case, I'd have to ask why you're doing it,” Mark said, glaring at the bear. “Is there something in here you don't want us to see or something?”

Monobear's expression remained impassive. “Why, it's nothing of the sort!” he said. “If I was trying to conceal something from you, I'd be much more underhanded than this! Can't a headmaster spend some time with his beloved students?”

“We've already been through this routine at the library,” Mark said. “At this point you're beginning to feel redundant.”

“Feh!” Monobear snapped. “It's almost like you don't want the super-secret information I have!”

“Information?” Melissa asked. “What do you mean?”

“Wouldn't you like to know?” Monobear retorted, his face cheerfully blank. “All I'll say is that there is an object somewhere in this building that contains information that may or may not be relevant to the goal you bastards have set for yourselves.”

“Something to do with getting out of here?” Mark asked, sceptical.

“Upupu…” Monobear laughed. “What kind of headmaster would I be if I didn't help my beloved students out just a little bit?”

“You're serious?” Melissa said, nervously adjusting her bag's strap.

“As serious as can be!” Monobear said. “In fact, I'm only telling you two bastards this because Mr ETL Hacker somehow managed to overlook it! Oh, what a despairing blow to his ego it'll be when two boring, ordinary, not-hacker ETLs uncover this coveted information!”

“Surely you wouldn't risk your game ending early just because of a desire to one-up Dirk,” Mark said. “What's the catch?”

“There is none!” Monobear announced. “I just couldn't resist the off-chance of experiencing the despair of seeing you bastards lay waste to my carefully made plans!” He stood perfectly still, face neutral. “Or, ya know, see you bastards start despairing when you fail to find a way that the information could help you at all.”

“I'll bite,” Melissa said warily. “Could you at least give us a hint towards what kind of information it is? Or where we'll find it?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely…” Monobear chirped. “Sometimes the thing you want is right under your nose! Leave no pebble unturned in your search for despair!” He placed his hands on his hips and looked off into the surveillance camera on the wall. “That's all you're getting from me! Figure the rest out on your own! Upupu… I'll be waiting to savour your reactions…”

Then, he was gone.

“If there was ever a fast-track for a migraine…” Melissa groaned. “And to make matters worse, our tour of the studio's been derailed into a scavenger hunt.”

Mark shrugged helplessly. “At least he didn't restrict our access this time around,” he said. He furrowed his brows in thought. “And, I have the feeling this scavenger hunt won't be as hard as Monobear made it out to be.”

“You think you know where it is?” Melissa asked.

Mark nodded. “It's fairly obvious,” he said, turning away from her and towards the Monobear Idol. “Under your nose… it's one of those things you wouldn't think to take literally, but…”

He leaned in and reached under the nose of the statue and gripped something. With one swift pull, a USB stick detached itself from the Idol's face, sprayed with gold paint. “Makes you wonder about the authenticity of Monobear's coveted possession,” Mark said, holding the USB stick up for Melissa to see. “And don't worry; I technically still haven't touched the Idol so I'm safe from punishment.”

Melissa let out a dry laugh. “If that's the mastermind's attempt at a riddle, I don't think we need to worry about being outsmarted,” she remarked.

“But they wanted us to find this,” Mark pointed out.

“You have a point there,” Melissa said. She turned and took a step out of the storage room. “Anyway, we should find a computer to see what's on there. I don't think Monobear will just let us ignore it.”

-

**Taking inspiration from several world-famous sites, the skate park at Sun's Joy Academy is equipped with the finest resources for anyone interested in skating, from amateur to professional to ETL. With hundreds of square feet of pipes, rails, and tracks, you are more than guaranteed to find your niche.**

“Ya-HOO!”

Dirk stepped back and looked up, shielding his eyes to see as Naomi skated up and flipped off a particularly tall halfpipe, landing flawlessly on her feet a few moments later. “Man, I've never felt so alive!” she cried out.

“I can see that,” he replied, walking along the pavement that snaked through the park. In many ways, the place really captured that stereotypical urban skate park feel, but at the same time it felt more gimmicky than an amusement park attraction. It was a strange balance that made everything feel somewhat like a liminal space. “At least you're enjoying yourself.”

Naomi hopped off the halfpipe and slid up to him. “Well, duh,” she said, hands on hips. “There's no way it's, like, healthy to keep feeling down all the time.”

“Honestly, don't take it the wrong way,” Dirk said. He kept walking. “I'm really glad you're feeling better, just… don't forget, we're also looking for a way out, okay?”

“Oh, I didn't!” Naomi announced cheerfully. “In fact, I saw a bunch of interesting stuff while I was up in the air!” She pointed to a section of the path that split off to the left a little further ahead. “Like the weird graffiti on one of the walls!” She then pointed to the right, across to the other side of the halfpipe she had just left. “Or the security camera on the ground that doesn't seem to be working right.”

“You… _what?_ ” Dirk said, lifting an eyebrow. He tapped something into his PDA.

“Oh come on, Dirk,” Naomi said with a smug grin. “What do you think I am, some comic relief airhead? I can be useful, you know!”

“Yeah, but…” Dirk continued. “To spot all that while skating around, and while so high in the air… I guess any doubts I had about your ETL are gone now.”

Naomi blushed. “Stop, you're too flattering,” she said. “I just didn't see why I couldn't look for a way out and have fun at the same time, you know?”

“I'm genuinely impressed,” Dirk said. He typed something else into his PDA. “All right. I've made note of the graffiti and the camera – which do you wanna check out first?”

“You're asking me?” Naomi said, pointing to herself. “Really?”

“I trust your judgement,” Dirk said simply.

“Hmm…” Naomi folded her arms and looked away thoughtfully. “In that case… maybe the graffiti? It's closer to us, plus the camera screams 'obviously suspicious' a little too much, don't you think?”

“So it's likely that out of the two, the graffiti will contain something of use,” Dirk mused.

“Exactly!” Naomi said. “And hey, even if it turns out we're wrong, it's not like the camera's going anywhere, right?”

“True,” Dirk said. He gave a wry smile. “Let's see what secrets this graffiti holds.”

A comfortable silence fell between the pair as they walked the short distance over to the large wall that Naomi had sighted. It was one of two walls that surrounded them on either side and was covered a strange grey-sandy colour. Curious, Dirk placed a hand on it to feel the rough texturing and tried not to imagine a skater colliding with it at high speeds.

Then, his eyes rested on the graffiti. It resembled a half-finished mural done in black and white paint – _obviously_ – with the outline tape still visible on some parts. Within the confines of the tape was a white cloud with black edges, completely unsubtle, and within the cloud was a silhouette of Monobear's head, blank save for the stylised rendition of his red eye.

“Who… did this?” Naomi asked, her voice quiet.

Dirk shrugged, then touched the edge of the cloud. “Kinda fresh,” he said. “Had to have been done no earlier than this morning – before we were let out, anyway.”

“So it wasn't one of us?” Naomi let out an uneasy breath of relief.

“Unless one of us somehow managed to slip out of a building on lockdown and obtain enough spray-paint to do this, then no.”

“And what about… that?” Naomi pointed to the mural again, this time to the white half of the Monobear silhouette. On the blank space were a few symbols, messily scribbled on without the aid of a stencil.

**超高校級の絶望、私たちを待って！**

“I think it's a message,” Dirk said. He raised his PDA and took a couple of pictures. “Looks like it's in Japanese.”

“Any idea what it says?” Naomi asked.

“Sorry, the translator app requires internet access to work,” Dirk said. “I'm as lost as you are.”

Naomi pouted. “So much for Japanese ancestry giving you magic linguistic powers,” she said.

“I don't think that's how it ever worked,” Dirk said. “I've got German ancestry yet you don't see me being able to understand a word of German.”

“I mean, it would be cool if it worked like that, though,” Naomi said. “At least, it would make understanding this message a little easier.”

“There's probably a dictionary in the library,” Dirk pointed out. “Monobear wouldn't impose such a restricting rule there without a reason. We'll have to ask around when everyone's finished exploring.”

“Hmm…” Naomi said. “I guess there's nothing we can do about this right now, which kinda sucks.”

“We might get to the bottom of it later,” Dirk said. “Plus, we still have that camera to check out. If you'd like to lead the way?”

“Of course!” Naomi gave a wide grin as she started to navigate through the skate park with Dirk following close behind. They snaked around a few questionably safe structures and under tunnels that seemed far too clean to belong in any authentic skate park, and eventually ended up reaching the aforementioned camera.

It was the same shape and model as the other ones scattered about the academy, complete with tacky Monobear decal, only instead of being positioned high enough to cover the area, the thing was mounted only a few feet from the ground. The red light on top of the camera kept blinking erratically and there was a groaning noise that came from the lens rapidly zooming in and out.

“This is weird,” Naomi said.

“You can say that again,” Dirk muttered, crouching down to get a closer look. He snapped a few photos with his PDA before lightly touching the camera. “This is too sloppy to be an accident. There's no way whoever's behind this can somehow force a seamless lock-down of the main building with the touch of a button yet not set up one camera correctly.”

“Hey, look at the wall there,” Naomi pointed out. “Doesn't it look like the camera was meant to be embedded in there?”

Dirk glanced over to the hole in the wall behind the camera. Several cracks spread out from the hole, and he noticed scratch marks on the camera itself. “Looks like somebody tried to dig it out,” he said. “But why?”

“Maybe the camera recorded something they didn't want to be recorded?” Naomi suggested. “I mean, ever since the trial we all know that you can get into the surveillance footage, and since Monobear was obviously planning on letting us out today, perhaps there was something pretty crucial on there they didn't want you to see.”

“You're surprisingly astute today, Naomi,” Dirk said.

“Well, it is easier to think and investigate when it doesn't involve one of your dead friends,” Naomi replied with a shrug and frown.

“But yeah, I think that's exactly what happened,” Dirk said. “They obviously tried to get to the physical memory chip in the camera and erase the data that way; whoever did this, they didn't have the right tools to hand to do it right.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because look,” Dirk said, pointing to the top of the camera. “The screws are all still in place. They didn't manage to get into the camera before we were let out, so I guess they just tried to make the camera appear like it was broken instead.” He motioned to the lens. “Like here, the lens has been cracked, and here—” he pointed to the stack of cables that fed from the back of the camera into the wall “—a couple of the cables have been torn, but none of the network or power cables, oddly enough.”

“Did they do that on purpose?” Naomi asked.

Dirk shook his head. “No clue,” he said, snapping a few more pictures. “It would help if I knew who I was dealing with, but I don't. But luckily for us, that means I can get into the camera and view this scandalous footage.”

“Really?” Naomi said. Then, “Do you think it has to do with Monobear, or whoever's behind him?”

“Certainly,” Dirk said. He pulled up a program on his PDA and typed something in. A few seconds later, there was a bleep. “And… we're in.” He scrolled through what appeared to be a long list of files. “As I thought… our vandal's actions damaged the camera in a way that means it can't take in any more footage…” Something spread onto his face and he suddenly stood up straight. He faced Naomi with a grave expression. “Listen. Do you honestly have nothing to do with this camera, the mural, or anyone involved?”

“Y-yeah,” Naomi said. “Why?”

Dirk's expression hardened. “No, I mean really. I need to know I can trust that you're on my side and that you have nothing to do with Monobear, the mastermind, or this killing game.”

“Obviously I don't!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do you really think I could _ever_ set up something like this? Do you really think I could _ever_ let what happened to Andy and Shauna… my friends _died_. Why would I ever want to cause any of that?” Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she balled her fists.

“Okay, I believe you,” Dirk said. “I trust you, Naomi. I just had to make sure.”

“Why?” Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I've realised something that Monobear, the mastermind, or whoever can never know,” Dirk said. He glanced around, genuine unease showing on his face for once, before he spoke again. “With the camera out of action, that effectively makes this entire area a blind spot for the mastermind. This is the only part of the campus that's not being monitored.”

“What?” Naomi said. “What do you mean?”

“I mean we have a place we can say or do things without Monobear knowing,” Dirk explained. “This is big, Naomi. We might actually be able to come up with an effective escape plan now. This could be the key to beating the mastermind.”

“R-really?” Naomi said. “You're serious?!”

Dirk nodded. “Do not tell anyone,” he said. “It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't know if I can trust everyone else just yet.”

“Not even Ella?” Naomi asked. “Seemed like you trusted her pretty well.”

“Ella's…” Dirk began. “I want to trust her – it seems too unreasonable to assume that she could still have some kind of ill intent after the way that Monobear put her through the ringer, but we have to accept the possibility that the entire display could have been staged. I'll need to gauge her reactions to certain things a little more before I can say either way.” He frowned. “I know it's harsh, but we can't be too careful.”

Naomi looked up in thought. “Wait a sec,” she said. “How can I be sure that _you're_ not someone we should distrust? What if this is all for show and you're just gonna kill me afterwards?”

Dead serious, Dirk looked Naomi in the eyes. “If I did that,” he said, “it would be far too obvious, if I was the culprit and if I was an associate of Monobear's.” He lifted his PDA and scrolled down the screen. “You can trust me, Naomi, if only because it wouldn't make sense for me to put Monobear's schemes like this if I truly supported him.”

“I guess you have a point,” Naomi said. “I never doubted you in the first place, but I just had to make sure, you know?”

A thin smile crossed Dirk's face. “I completely understand,” he said. “That makes two of us.” He glanced towards the broken camera again. “We should probably get going before someone realises we've gone MIA on the security feed, though.”

“You're probably right,” Naomi said with a slight frown. “It would have been nice to check this place out a little more, though.”

“Hey, we could always come back later,” Dirk said. “In fact, it'd probably make it _less_ suspicious if we deliberately make sure not to avoid this place, so long as we keep in range of the _working_ cameras.”

Naomi placed a fist in the palm of her hand. “Smart,” she said, before glancing in the general direction of the other cameras. “So, should we head off now? We should probably hear what everyone else has to say, even if we can't really tell them anything in return.”

“Yeah, let's go,” Dirk said. “Plus, it's still pretty early so I guess we'll get first dibs on the cafeteria food.”

Naomi's face lit up. “Neat!” she shouted. “Let's go already!”

Dirk let out another laugh as Naomi sped through the skate park, back towards the central building. Before moving to follow her, though, he leaned down and attached a miniature hidden camera of his own to the crack in the wall that would feed back to his PDA.

Just to be sure.

-

**Gorgeous architecture, gorgeous fabrics, gorgeous aesthetics! Words fail to encapsulate the sheer beauty that the textile building exudes! Inspiration flows through every last brick of this three-storey wonder, and with a stunning view of the campus and island from the top floor, you'll never have to worry about not making the most of our extensive array of fabrics!**

“You're not gonna read it aloud _again_ are you?” Ben asked with a wry smile. He sat cross-legged against the balcony door with a sketchpad on his lap.

Wyatt scoffed from across the room. He held his ElectroID in one hand and held up a swatch of fabric against a mannequin with the other. “I'm not getting over how garish that description is any time soon, sorry.”

“Anyway, weren't you gonna get me a drink?” Ben asked. “Pretty sure that's why we're even taking a break right now; no idea where you got the idea that it's somehow dramatic reading and swatch comparing time.” His smile widened. “We still have an entire floor we skipped that we need to check out.”

“I hear you,” Wyatt replied with an exaggerated sigh. He pocketed his ElectroID and put the swatch back down on the desk with the mannequin before making his way over to the vending machine against the wall. “Let's see… what are you in the mood for?”

“Depends… what's on offer?” Ben replied with a stroke of his pencil on the sketchpad.

Wyatt smirked. “Are we limiting our options to the vending machine here?” Then, after a high laugh, “No, but seriously. What drink?”

“Uh, a Coke?” Ben asked. “Something cool.”

“I hear you,” Wyatt said. “Now, let's see… one Coke, and… ah!”

“What?”

Wyatt turned to face Ben, his face lit up. “They have it!” he exclaimed.

Ben drew another line on the paper. “They have…what?”

“My favourite brand of sparkling water!” Wyatt explained. “I can never find it anywhere other than the convenience store in my home town, and it's just here! In a vending machine!”

“You're a sparkling water kinda guy?” Ben said with a raised eyebrow “I dunno if I can deal with that…”

“Hey,” Wyatt said as he pressed the corresponding buttons, and a bottle of sparkling water and a can of Coke rolled out. He tossed the can to Ben, who caught it with ease and stood up, securing the sketchpad to a strap on his back. “I can't help that I was born this way.”

“Shut up,” Ben shot back playfully. “You're not being smooth.”

Wyatt took a sip. “Well, a guy can try.” He turned towards the door that led back into the hallway. “Anyway, are you ready to go?”

Ben nodded. “Downstairs it is?”

“Downstairs it is,” Wyatt replied. Saying nothing more, both of them stepped out of the room and into the hallway. It consisted of a U-shaped walkway with doors surrounding it on one side. On the other side was a glass barrier that allowed you to look over the ledge all the way down to the ground floor; a skylight above shone down, creating a rather striking pattern effect. At the far side of the left walkway was an elevator door with 'OUT OF SERVICE' written on it; the stairwell was located on the right hand side.

“I'm still curious as to why the elevator isn't working,” Ben said. “It was like that when you checked this place out on the first day, wasn't it?”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said with a shrug as they began to walk towards the stairs. “I'd say it's kinda weird, but on the list of weird things that have happened to us I can't say it ranks highly.”

“You have a point,” Ben replied. They walked through the door and down the stairwell, coming out at the second floor. Ben paused by the wall to read the sign. “Let's see… sewing machines, templates, and magazine archives. Huh.”

Wyatt opened the door and walked through into the hallway. “Hey, you never know when you need to research for a… what?!”

“Wyatt?” Ben rushed through the door up to him. “What is it?”

Wyatt pointed to the hallway across from them that led to the elevator. However, unlike the floor above and below them, there was a maintenance closet in the corner, and a tape barrier preventing access to the rooms opposite them.

“Something off-limits,” Wyatt said, folding his arms. “There's no tape like this upstairs _or_ downstairs, so if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Monobear's got something in there he doesn't want us to see.”

Ben smirked. “Wanna check it out?”

Wyatt smiled in return. “Of course.” He managed to reach the central walkway without any problems, but then he tried to take a few steps towards the maintenance closet.

It was almost expected when Monobear popped up. “Hey, hey, hey! What's the big deal!” he growled, fury etched onto his face. “Don't you bastards know an off-limits sign when you see one?!”

“Oh, joy,” Ben said flatly, rolling his eyes. “How nice to see you, Monobear.”

“Don't friggin' sass _me_. I am your _headmaster_!” Monobear snapped. He began to waddle towards Ben. Wyatt stepped between them.

“And what is it that's off-limits?” Wyatt asked. “Clearly it can't be anything _too_ incriminating, otherwise there would have already been a rule preventing us from even thinking about crossing that tape, and it'd give the game away if you added that rule right now, so spill.”

“I don't have to tell you anything!” Monobear yelled. “In fact, I have the authority to make you disregard this whole thing!”

“You really can't—” Ben began.

“Shut it!” Monobear replied. He motioned to the classroom door next to him. “Both of you! In there, now! This is where you're going to be investigating! I'm decreeing it, canonising it, et cetera!”

“Oh my God,” Wyatt said. “Are you really being this petty?”

“Yes!” Monobear shouted. He began to push Wyatt towards the door. “I'm serious! Get in there!”

“Okay, _fine_ , we're going,” Wyatt said. “Come on, Ben.”

“Ugh, all right,” Ben replied. He followed Wyatt as he opened the door and stepped into the room.

The classroom didn't seem to be anything too out of the ordinary; a few desks, a blackboard at the front, and some bookshelves at the back. By the windows were a few more sewing machines lined up.

The only real thing of note was what was on the blackboard: a doodle of some girl with two long pigtails and Monobear-themed hairclips, with a speech bubble that read “Make me look pretty~!”.

“Huh,” Ben said, looking at the board. “What's this?”

Monobear waddled in through the door and hopped up onto the teacher's desk. “That, my bastards, is the one, the only, the dearly beloved, the _darling…_ Why, it's none other than Junko Enoshima!”

“Junko… Enoshima?” Wyatt repeated. “I've heard that name before.”

“Oh?” Monobear tilted his head, curious.

“Yeah,” Ben said. “Didn't Ella say something about her in the trial?”

“It was something about this whole mess being _her_ fault or something,” Wyatt replied. “Monobear, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?”

“Eh?!” Monobear exclaimed, frozen in shock. “Eh, well… how can I put this other than our darling Junko here, queen of despair, being the only meatbag in this universe deserving of our collective worship!”

“Hm,” Wyatt said. “So would it be wrong of me to hazard a guess and say that you are the one behind the bear then, Miss Enoshima?”

“Upupu…” Monobear giggled. “Wouldn't you like to know? But I won't give away endgame mysteries so easily! I have a game to uphold!”

“You really don't,” Ben said. “We're all kinda done with murder forever.”

Monobear ignored him. “However, 'Miss Enoshima', eh? Haven't heard reverence like _that_ in a long time…”

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Wyatt replied, defensive.

Monobear zipped his mouth shut. “That's for another time! The beans'll be spilled eventually, mark my words.” He turned to show them his black side as his red eye started to glow. “That is, if either of you live long enough to see the endgame! Upupu…”

And Monobear vanished. In his place was a single magazine resting on the desk.

“What's this?” Ben said, reaching over to pick it up. His eyes glanced over the cover. “And… I can't read it.”

“Let me see,” Wyatt said. Ben handed him the magazine. “This is in Japanese… huh.”

Ben pointed to the cover. “Hey, is that… Junko on the cover?”

“Seems to be,” Wyatt said. The image in question was of Junko wearing an ensemble heavily inspired by school uniforms. “And… look, there.”

In small print, underneath the picture of Junko, were the words **SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL FASHIONISTA = SUPER HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL DESPAIR?**

“Super High-School Level?” Ben said. “Like Enhanced Talent Level?”

“Makes sense,” Wyatt said. “The brochures for Sun's Joy did mention being inspired by a similar academy over in Japan… she may have attended the Japanese equivalent.”

“So she was like us?” Ben said. “That's… not something I want to be thinking about.”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said. “I don't want to think about the idea of one of us being capable of something so horrible.”

“I just wish we had more information,” Ben said. “Both about the Despair Event and whatever's going on with this school. Shame that we can't see whatever Monobear's hiding in those classrooms.”

“Obviously we're not supposed to go there,” Wyatt said. “Yet.”

“Yet?”

Wyatt nodded. “He keeps going on about another time, and endgame mysteries...” He brought a fist to his mouth. “There's some kind of pacing to this game that we're not supposed to disrupt.”

“So, what?” Ben asked. “We get given more pieces of the puzzle as more of us, well, uh, die?”

Wyatt nodded, his face grim. “I think so,” he said. “That's got to be the reason why nobody's found out anything about how this game works, how Monobear works, or who's even behind it all.” He adjusted his glasses. “Almost like a whodunnit.”

“Whodunnit?” Ben repeated. “You'll need to elaborate.”

“Like those mystery stories where you have a large group of people in a confined location and one of them's a killer,” Wyatt explained. His expression softened when he saw Ben's blanching face. “You know how like there's always a bunch of people unnecessarily killing each other out of distrust and fear before anyone actually tries to uncover what's going on? I think that's what Monobear's trying to achieve.”

“So...at least two more people will have to die before Monobear gives us any more hints?” Ben asked. “Jesus… in that case, we'll really have to work together to figure everything out without Monobear's hints.”

Wyatt frowned. “I just hope we can do that,” he said. “We've already had one trial, and I don't think a second one's completely impossible…”

“Hey, we gotta have hope though, right?” Ben said. “Maybe things won't turn out like that.”

“Maybe,” Wyatt said. He glanced at the magazine once more. “But I don't think we're going to get anywhere further today, not with Monobear throwing a hissy fit.”

“Should we head back then?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” Wyatt said. He motioned to the magazine. “We can show this to the others and maybe they can help us figure this out, and we can finally solve this Junko Enoshima mystery.”

“Hey,” Ben said as they walked out of the classroom. “Maybe everyone else has found some clues, too, and we'll really be able to collectively make progress today.”

“That would be ideal,” Wyatt said. A sad smile crossed his face. “Let's hope that happens.”

-

Waiting for the laptop to boot up seemed to take forever. Melissa sat in front of the computer and Mark just next to her, fiddling with the USB stick in his hands. They were in one of the editing suites in the back of the building, a small room that only had a single window covered by a thick blind as a light source. A little bit filtered through, but the room was still significantly darker than what was healthy. At least it kept the worst of the sun's heat from filtering through, though.

“What year is this?” Mark groaned, as the laptop displayed ' **BOOTING – 93%** '. “I didn't even know computers still ran like this.”

“They don't,” Melissa said. She sighed. “And this one doesn't make much sense either; it's visually identical to the computers in the IT room, and they're cutting-edge.”

“It's probably Monobear screwing with us,” Mark said, frowning. “I knew we shouldn't have taken the first laptop we found.”

“We can't always be fortunate,” Melissa said, drumming her fingers against the table. “Come on, already…”

“Even when using downgraded but durable equipment when recording in foreign danger zones I didn't have to wait like this,” Mark said. “I really hope this isn't all one big waste of our time.”

“I don't think so,” Melissa said. “Monobear hiding crucial information on an effigy of himself? It's too perfect, really. And he said his intention was for us to one-up Dirk in the game of investigating, so I think we have something legitimate.”

“Maybe,” Mark grumbled. “I just wonder if one of us shouldn't split off and keep looking around.”

Melissa shook her head. “No, I think both of us need to see whatever's on here,” she said.

“Why?” Mark asked.

Melissa gave a troubled expression that said it all.

“You don't…” Mark said. “Do you?”

“I'd like to think otherwise,” Melissa said, “but this is information directly from the mastermind themselves, and if it's a trap we might as well ensure as much as possible that everyone else hears what we found out.”

“You think a laptop could really be that dangerous?” Mark asked.

“I didn't think a puppet and school dance could be dangerous either,” Melissa said with a hitch in her voice. “I just think we need to take as many precautions as we can.”

Mark opened his mouth to say something, but at the same time the computer let out a bleep.

“Look,” Melissa said. The screen had changed to a black background with ' **INSERT KEY TO CONTINUE** ' written in bold white letters.

“I guess that means this,” Mark said. He took the USB and inserted it into the laptop. After a few seconds, the screen switched to a file browser that displayed only one file, titled ' **ETLHINT01** '.

“It's a PDF,” Melissa said, moving the touchpad around to get the cursor to show up.

“Can you click anything else?” Mark asked after the cursor began whizzing around the screen; it was a pixellated version of Monobear's face.

“No,” Melissa said. “The browser's locked to fullscreen and the keyboard shortcuts aren't working… this file is all we're seeing.”

“We'll have to take it to Dirk when we're done then,” Mark said. “Can't risk there being anything we overlooked.”

“Yeah,” Melissa said. “Ready for me to open it?”

“Go ahead,” Mark said. He had pulled out his camera and was now fiddling with that.

Melissa nodded and clicked the file. A moment later and the PDF was fully loaded, filling the entire screen.

Mark's eyes grew wide. “What's… this?” he asked.

“A-an article, I'd say…” Melissa said. Her face was rapidly losing colour. “I mean, I-I think I remember this, but still…”

“You're not…” Mark said, something akin to suspicion and fear in his voice. He couldn't take his eyes off the headline, which read ' **Sharp Launch, Storytelling, and Despair – How Melissa Arthurs is continually challenging the modern world-view** '.

“Oh God _no_ , I swear…” Melissa said. “Mark, I would _never…_ But what's the point of this? This article is nearly two years old…”

“I don't know,” Mark said. “Maybe there's something hidden in it?”

“Maybe,” Melissa said, her eyes wide. “But if we find anything suspicious you have to believe that this was originally just an interview talking about how I used modern tragedies as inspiration for my novel, not anything to do with what's going on now.”

“I believe you,” Mark said uneasily. “Anyway, let's read it.”

**It's not every day that a science fiction novel is a prominent household name, and an even rarer occurrence when people can't stop talking about a high-school student for reasons that don't border on the infamous.**

**Melissa Arthurs, international best-selling author of the** _**Fakeout** _ **trilogy, has somehow gotten the literary and mundane worlds, and even Hollywood, talking about her, all before she's even legally old enough to drink.**

**Our reporting team had the honour to sit down and speak with Melissa about the latest book in the series,** _**Daydream** _ **, as well as what inspires her and makes her tick as a writer.**

**We first asked her about what inspired her to venture into the territory that the** _**Fakeout** _ **trilogy covers, to which Melissa responded: “I was really invested in the everyday conflicts going on at the border between our civilised world and the world of nature. I just had the idea of exploring the deeper evils of environmental capitalism, and ran with it until we get a government hell-bent on running the planet to the ground to turn a profit, and here you can see the world that** _**Fakeout** _ **takes place in begin to take form. Of course, my stories are more than one long Greenpeace ad campaign. Much more.”**

**When asked about what she thinks towards current environmental conservation efforts, Melissa had this to say: “Don't hold anything I say as the gospel truth – I'm a writer, not a scientist – but I think we're beginning to take steps in the right direction. I don't want to openly criticise any particular organisation here, but I am a little concerned at how the idea that no goal is worth pursuing if it doesn't turn a profit has implanted itself into even the most selfless of us. I don't think we're at a point of no return that** _**Fakeout** _ **would suggest, but I am concerned about what'll happen if we don't get our acts together soon enough.”**

**Speaking of disasters, we also asked Melissa about how contemporary tragedies factored into the formation of** _**Fakeout** _ **. She responded: “It's always been difficult deciding how much is too much – the bad shapes our world as much as the good and it would be wrong to ignore that, but at the same time, you don't want to come across as too insensitive. For example, several scenes in** _**Daydream** _ **are directly inspired by the Despair Incident in Japan, which is something that should poignantly resonate with us all rather than be reduced to an abstract problem happening somewhere else. There were a lot of lengthy discussions – almost arguments – with editors and publishers about whether it's really right to talk about the Despair Incident so soon, but I think people digest and understand things through fiction much faster than through tedious news reports that take months to filter through. And I think there's a lot for all of us to take and learn from the Despair Incident, so I'm only really doing my part to help spread the message in a way that will hopefully connect to a lot of people.”**

**Of course, there was no way we could sit down with the author of** _**Daydream** _ **and** _**not** _ **ask about the infamous Sharp Launch (spoiler alert!). If you're an active member of the** _**Fakeout** _ **fandom you'll know of the outrage, shock, and upset of countless readers – dubbed mourners, by Melissa herself in a blog post released just days after** _**Daydream** _ **'s release. On the subject of the Sharp Launch and all its tragic details, Melissa had this to say: “I just really wanted Nasha's plight to be more than a sensationalised plot twist – despite its fantastical setting,** _**Fakeout** _ **has always been filled with characters that feel like real people. I always try to incorporate messages into my stories that we as a population can reflect upon – in the end, Nasha is a cautionary tale about letting fiction convince you that you're invincible. The real tragedy of the Sharp Launch comes from the fact that it was completely avoidable, and if there's one thing I want people to take away from** _**Daydream** _ **, it's that we have the power to stop human tragedies just as much as we have the power to initiate them.”**

**Regarding what's next for this brilliant young author, we don't quite know for sure, but we do know that Melissa can only keep getting better and better. We asked her what her future plans are, and she had this to say: “Well, the big one is getting all the film rights sorted out for** _**Fakeout** _ **, then I really want to focus on my studies. It's all well and good being an author, but I can't get an education on my talent alone. But I do have plans for my next book – it's shaping up to be a big one, I'll tell you that much.”**

_**Daydream** _ **was released internationally on January 4 and can be purchased from all major book retailers (use our Amazon discount code 'DAYDREAMMINUS10' to get 10% off!) and the** _**Fakeout** _ **movie is due to hit theatres this October.**

“I don't… I don't get it,” Melissa said. “This is just a completely ordinary interview… why does Monobear want to show this to us?”

“What I don't get is why Monobear didn't want Dirk to find this,” Mark said with a frown. “I mean, wouldn't it make sense for someone who _isn't_ you to see this first, since an interview with you being one of Monobear's secrets makes you seem like you may be connected to the mastermind, and that distrust would paint you as a target for this killing game. But to have you see it first… it doesn't make sense with what we know about how Monobear operates.”

“There has to be something more to this we're not seeing,” Melissa said apprehensively. “It might just be an elaborate motive for murder, but… I don't know.”

“The others need to see this,” Mark said. “Maybe we can figure out what it means together. I know it's important, but I don't know _how_ it's important.”

“Yeah,” Melissa said. She moved to close the laptop, then froze. “Wait. You don't think they'll start thinking—”

“They won't,” Mark said. He put his hand on top of hers and looked at her directly in the eyes. “I believe you. I trust you. And if they don't, I'll make them see otherwise, I swear.”

Melissa nodded shakily. “Thanks, Mark,” she whispered, closing the laptop. She removed the USB and gave it to him, before taking a deep breath. “Okay, let's head back.”

Mark smiled as Melissa slid the laptop into her bag. “We'll figure this out,” he said. “All of us. Together.”

-

“Huh. There's no over-the-top blurb for the beach,” Marian mused. She scrolled through the ElectroID once more before pocketing it again. “Weird.”

“Maybe this isn't actually one of the school's facilities,” John replied, a sceptical frown on his face. “Could be that this is Monobear's 'reward' for such an exhilarating trial.”

“Did he really feel that or are you just making this up?” Marian asked, as she continued to walk down the beach, sand lapping over her otherwise immaculate dress shoes.

John smiled mischievously. “I may be taking _some_ liberties with my analysis,” he said. “Can't I have a little fun?”

Marian smiled wearily. “Sorry, it's just been a rough past twenty-four hours,” she said. “Between Andrew and Shauna, and the school trial, and then _Ella…_ ”

“…You're beginning to feel the weight of assuming the role of leadership?” John finished.

“Remind me never to vent around an ETL Empath ever again,” Marian said. “I'd like to maintain the illusion that I can know my own thoughts before other people, at least.”

“There's a reason I never went into psychiatry,” John said. “I don't think having the world's most insufferable therapist would help that many people.”

“I don't know,” Marian said teasingly. “There's some therapeutic value to be found in punching your perfectly normal face, surely.”

John shrugged. “Last I checked, punching your therapist wasn't a recognised method of treatment in the DSM.”

“Shame,” Marian said. “I should get on that when we get out of here; petition for punching an ETL Empath in the face to be recognised as a valid form of psychological treatment.”

“Maybe,” John said with a laugh that rang hollow. “If we all get out of here.”

“Oh, not you too,” Marian said sternly. “I won't be having anyone else feeling anything that even vaguely resembles despair until we're well away from this island.”

John raised his hands placatingly. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn't think. I guess now really isn't the time to be a downer.”

“I'm not dismissing your feelings or anything,” Marian said as they reached a shallow slope. “I just don't want another of my friends to fall victim to Monobear's game.”

“You don't need to worry about that with me,” John said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I like staying alive too much.”

“Let's keep it that way,” Marian said as she walked down the slope, nearly stumbling in the sand. Once the two of them reached the bottom, with the shoreline in view, she paused. “Whoa. It's pretty.”

The east beach surprisingly matched up with Monobear's “sparkling, palm-lined” description. Large palm trees shot up out of the sand, providing pleasant relief from the tropical sand, and clear water that shimmered in the daylight lapped against soft sand. Nestled between two particularly huge palm trees was a small wooden building with a sign on the front door that read 'STORAGE SHED'.

“Picturesque,” John said. An easy smile crossed his face. “You could really sit here all day and unwind, couldn't you?”

Marian smiled sadly. “It would have been great to study here with everyone,” she said. “The sixteen of us, spending a summer afternoon here… It would have been really great.”

John said nothing and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We shouldn't focus on what we've lost,” he said. “Remember the training we went through for Sunshine Sally in case she targeted someone we cared about? Focus on what's here, what we can do, and what we can protect.”

“You're right,” Marian said. She breathed shakily. “Let's go check out the storage shed; there could be something in there.”

However, once they approached it, they rapidly found out that it was locked. Marian grabbed the handle and pulled once more. “Great,” she said.

“Now what?” John said. “We can't have come all the way out here for nothing.”

Marian folded her arms. “There has to be a key somewhere,” she said. “We should probably go back to the central building and look for the administrator's office. We might find it there.”

John frowned. “It's getting late,” he said. “By the time we get back here it'll probably be Night Time, and I don't know if I want to hang around here after dark.”

Marian spared a glance at the late afternoon sun. “Tomorrow it is, then,” she said. “I feel pretty bad for coming up empty-handed, but there's not much we can do.”

“Someone say something about keys?”

As if on cue, Monobear seemingly sprung up from the sand.

“You,” Marian said. “How much more can you possibly harass us, bear?”

“Uwah, so harsh…” Monobear said, drooping his head in misery. “And after you were such a star player at the school trial as well…! Is there not a single one of you bastards I can take pride in?”

“Do you want something from us?” John asked, irritated. “We're kind of busy right now.”

“Of course you are!” Monobear said. “What kind of headmaster would I be if I rudely interrupted my doting students!”

“You're not our headmaster,” Marian said. “Frankly, if anything, you're a little demon.”

“Hey!” Monobear snapped. “I don't need to take even more abuse today!”

“Okay, okay, we concede,” John said. “Why are you here, then?”

“Oh, no reason,” Monobear said, blushing. “I just heard you talking about keys and locked doors, and well… It's time for Mr Monobear's exposition hour!”

“Is it really an—”

“—The abridged edition,” Monobear finished. He clapped his paws together. “So, you bastards are presented with a locked door that you need to open, and you've rightfully progressed enough to earn it. What do you do?”

“We already know where the keys are,” Marian said.

“And here comes the plot twist!” Monobear exclaimed. “You don't need 'em! All doors flagged as progression rewards can be permanently unlocked by request!”

“By request?” John asked. “We need to ask you?”

“Yes indeedy!” Monobear said. “Boy is it great to have an ETL Empath around! It's like your own thoughts are in stereo!”

“Fine,” Marian said dryly. “Monobear, could you unlock this storage shed for us? We're investigating and this is hindering us.”

“Magic word?” Monobear said tauntingly, tilting his head. “You gotta say it before I do anything.”

“…Please,” Marian said.

“Closer~” Monobear said, turning to show Marian his white half. “You're missing a word!”

“You're not…” Marian said. She looked to John. “He's not…”

“He is,” John said. “Just go with it. I think we've had enough drama.”

“Okay then,” Marian said. She grit her teeth. “Pretty please.”

“Well why didn't you just say so!” Monobear said. “I'll do anything for my students that I love and adore so dearly! Upupu!”

Monobear waddled up to the door, waved his arms around and chanted in gibberish for a few seconds before the shed swung open. “There you are! That wasn't so hard, was it!”

“I will be so glad when we're finally rid of you,” Marian said. “You can go now. We don't need you around.”

“You don't want to play with little old Monobear? Really?” Monobear asked, deflating. “That cuts so horribly deep! Despair is oozing out of my tender body! And to think, I was going to give _you two_ the big hint! Guess I really will give it to those bastards from the library after all!”

“What are you on about?” John asked.

“Well,” Monobear said. “Since you bastards have such a vested interest in finding out the mastermind of this little communal life and why they're doing it, I thought I'd help you all out! Now, I know that it's far too early in the story, but I feel like just getting access to the places I locked you out of wasn't reward enough! Of course, it's not enough to solve the mystery on its own, but hey! We gotta start somewhere!”

“Hold up, hold up,” Marian said. “You're freely giving us clues as to who you are? Why?”

“Upupu… Upupu…” Monobear giggled. “My bear lips are sealed! If you really wanna know, go ask your friends at dinner! See ya around!”

And with that, Monobear was gone again.

“What was that about?” John asked.

“Probably some kind of trap or motive,” Marian said uneasily. “I just hope Monobear's not been toying with anyone vulnerable.”

“Tensions were pretty high after what happened this morning,” John said. “I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.”

“We can only hope for the best right now,” Marian said. “For now, we should find out as much as we can here.”

Marian stepped inside the storage shed after one last look at John. The shed itself wasn't very large, and was mostly filled with beach supplies such as lounge chairs, parasols, volleyball sets, towels, and a gas stove, that wouldn't have fit in with the pool's supplies. In fact, much to her chagrin, the entire place was painfully normal.

“There's nothing in here,” Marian called back as she took a further step into the shed, looking up at the dim lightbulb that hung from the ceiling. At the same time, her breath caught in her throat.

On the roof, in bold black lettering, someone had written ' **SIXTEEN HAVING FUN. THE BEACH PARTY THAT NEVER WAS.** '.

“Christ,” Marian said, backing out of the shed and back into the daylight, nearly crashing into John.

“You okay?” John said. “You're upset. What was in there?”

“Just Monobear screwing with us,” Marian said. She folded her arms and tried in vain to smooth over her agitated expression. “He though it'd be a fun idea to remind us of the beach party Shauna planned for us all to go to, before… Oh God…”

“Marian,” John said with a frown as tears rolled down the ETL Lawyer's cheeks. “Don't beat yourself up about it. It's not your fault. You didn't fail anyone.”

“Still,” Marian said. “It's awful, knowing that I can try my hardest to bring us all together and get through this, and Monobear can take it all away on a whim. I mean, look what happened with Ella – I nearly got her executed and the only reason she's exiled rather than dead is because Dirk saved her. Being the source of strength and hope for everyone… it's hard, John, really hard… I don't want to fail again.”

“You need to stop assuming responsibility for everyone's actions,” John said. “You didn't make Shauna decide to kill Andrew; that was her decision as an individual. It's impossible to expect every person's decision here to be on you, Marian – you don't have to be strong for all of us.”

“I know, I know,” Marian said, wiping at a tear. “I just… I needed to get this out. Pardon my language, but this is all pretty fucked up, you know?”

“I know,” John said. “Your reaction is perfectly natural – it is rather fucked up, and I'd be more worried if you _weren't_ affected.”

Marian laughed dryly. “God, I must look such a mess,” she said.

“Not really,” John replied. “You're a little red, but your make-up's okay.”

“Thank goodness,” Marian said. “People have died, but at least I still look good.”

“Hey, no need to worry about leaving an ugly corpse behind,” John said.

Marian let out an ugly laugh. “Oh God, we've really hit the morbid humour stage already,” she said. “It's Sunshine Sally all over again.”

“Whatever gets us through it,” John said. “Feeling better, though?”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “Yeah, I am. I think we're done here for now; shall we head back and wait to hear from the others?”

“Only if you promise not to carry the weight of everyone's burdens,” John said, concerned.

“Don't worry,” Marian said. “It's a promise.”

-

Everyone returned to find dinner already served at the cafeteria. Freshly-prepared food was piled high on the large central table, a hundred different scents wafting around.

Chelsea was the first to arrive, followed shortly after by Nina and Joel. One by one everyone filtered in and sat around the table, until the final two, Naomi and Dirk, took their seats.

“Well, isn't this a little communal?” Nina said with a smile as she took another bite of her food. “I don't think all of us have ever sat around the same table in the cafeteria before.”

“It's not quite all of us though, is it?” Dirk pointed out. Of the sixteen seats available, three were empty.

“Don't antagonise anyone, Dirk,” Marian said. “We have a lot to discuss, and I'd rather it all went smoothly.”

“I get it, I get it,” Dirk said with a shrug. “Just how's about we don't entirely forget about our resident exile, okay?”

“Dirk, please,” Nina said. “I know that Ella's situation isn't the fairest, but we won't get _anywhere_ if we're all at each other's throats.”

“I said I get it,” Dirk said. Next to him, Naomi frowned and glanced in his direction.

Marian stood up at the end of the table. “Well then,” she said. “Before we descend into senseless bickering, let's hear what everyone managed to discover today. Anyone like to start?”

“Oh! We will,” Nina said, raising her hand in the air. “We checked out the pool; it's pretty huge, and there's a lot of gimmicky branded stuff in the storage room.”

“What kind of stuff?” Mark asked. Next to him, Melissa had her bag on her lap.

“Nothing too exciting,” Joel said. “You know, T-shirts, water bottles, pool toys, that kinda junk. It's pretty extensive if anyone ever wants to go for a swim.”

“Oh!” Nina said. “I nearly forgot! Monobear also mentioned a gender restriction on the changing rooms!”

“…Gender restriction?” John asked.

“Yeah,” Nina said, nodding. “Your ElectroID will only let you enter the changing room of the registered gender you identify with. If you try to enter the other changing room… he said something about a Gatling gun and punishment?”

“So he's been bothering you as well?” Ben asked.

Joel nodded. “Yeah. I think he's been going around and harassing everyone, right?” Nearly everyone nodded in response.

“I think we can conclude that that's just what he does,” Marian said. “So, did you find anything out that could help us in our escape attempts?”

“I think the water filtration system in the pool is linked to a pipeline connected to the ocean,” Joel said. “I don't know if we could somehow use that to get off-campus, but it's not a definitive way off the island.”

“Yeah, we didn't have much luck…” Nina said. “Sorry.”

“Don't apologise,” Marian said. “You still managed to give us valuable information about the pool; every last detail is useful here.”

“Yeah, still…” Nina said. “I just wish we'd been able to find a way out.”

“At least we've managed to narrow our options down, though,” Marian said. “Anyone else have any more luck?”

“Well, Charlie and I checked out the garden,” Carlos said. “There was a shed with some basic gardening supplies and fertilisers, and this weird mutant plant Monobear kept calling the MonoPlant.”

“MonoPlant?” Chelsea asked.

“It's some kind of mutated Venus Flytrap that Monobear made,” Charlie explained. “He, uh, he said he feeds it human remains…”

“Oh my God,” Naomi said.

“Wait,” Ben said. “You don't – that's not where—”

Charlie shook her head. “No, Monobear said that he's keeping Andrew and Shauna's bodies in some freezers somewhere. It's, um… he's been feeding it the faculty members.”

“So the bear wasn't bluffing when he said there's no faculty left,” Dirk said. “Gonna hazard a guess and say they're being kept in the same freezers as our friends.”

“I don't know,” Carlos said. “Monobear said something about Andrew and Shauna having 'prime remains' as opposed to regular corpses? I didn't really get half of what he was on about. He mostly spoke nonsense.”

“Anything else?” Marian asked. Charlie's expression changed for just a moment, but she didn't say anything. “Well, thank you for finding that out. I'm going to presume nobody has any idea about the location of these freezers?”

“The only ones I've seen are the ones in the kitchen,” Wyatt said. “They're probably somewhere off-limits to us. Think we'll ever find them?”

“I don't know,” Marian said. “And as cruel as it sounds, the priority should be getting everyone who's still alive out of here.”

“You're right,” Wyatt said.

“Who wants to go next?” Marian asked. She took a sip from her drink.

“I guess we will?” Melissa said. “We checked out the library first. It's pretty big, and there are a lot of books there that could be useful, only…”

“That rule Monobear imposed earlier?” John finished. “What happened there?”

“I insulted Monobear's garbage literature and he got mad,” Mark said. “But, that could have just been an excuse for him to restrict our access to any books that could help us get out of here.”

“You think there's something in there?” Marian asked.

“Definitely,” Melissa said. “The building's huge enough to house more than a million titles, and if it was built by the faculty then there's no way Monobear would be able to filter through and censor that many books. There's probably information in there we could use that even he doesn't know about.”

“Interesting,” Marian said. “We'll definitely need to look into finding any loopholes to exploit there. Did you manage to look at any of the books?”

“No, sadly,” Mark said. “I wish we'd have had the opportunity before Monobear showed up.”

“Hey, it's not necessarily a book, but Ben and I found something in the textile building,” Wyatt said. He cleared some space on the table and set the magazine down. “We found this fashion magazine in one of the classrooms.”

“Let's see that,” Dirk said. “Wait… that's Junko Enoshima.”

“What?” Naomi exclaimed.

“Really?” Mark asked.

“Yeah,” Wyatt said uneasily. “Monobear explained it to us. The magazine's in Japanese, so I don't know exactly what's being said, but look at the writing on the cover.”

“Super High-School Level Fashionista equals Super High-School Level Despair?” Dirk read.

“I mean, if anyone still had any doubts about Junko Enoshima being the one behind this…” Nina said.

“That's… why a Japanese magazine?” Naomi asked. “It doesn't make sense – nobody here can read it.”

“It might be a taunt,” John said. “You know, a reminder that we're so powerless against our enemy that we can't even comprehend what's in plain sight.”

“Really? They'd really go to all that trouble?” Ben asked.

“Afraid so,” John said. “I know how these types of people work. How did you find it?”

“Well, Monobear left it behind after forcing us into a classroom so we didn't explore an off-limits hallway in the textile building,” Ben explained. “There was a drawing of Junko Enoshima on the chalkboard. None of it made sense.”

“Uh-huh…” Dirk said, flipping through the pages before looking up. “Hey, Wyatt, you know you're in this magazine, right?”

“…What?” Wyatt said.

“Yeah, here,” Dirk said. He placed the open magazine flat on the table and pointed to an article. There was a photograph of Wyatt accompanied by a written description and illustrations of dresses.

“I'm – that's not—” Wyatt began.

“Stop,” John said. “Nobody's accusing you of anything. In fact, if anything, this was a deliberate move to make us suspect you for no good reason. Don't worry.”

“Yeah, you're probably right,” Wyatt said shakily. “Can't let Monobear win, right?”

“Right,” John said with a reassuring smile.

“Hey, speaking of which,” Melissa said, pulling the laptop out of her bag. She opened it up and then pulled out the USB stick. “Monobear gave us this USB, and we found this laptop.”

“Where did you find it?” Dirk asked.

“The film studio,” Mark said. “It was on the Monobear Idol thing – he hid it there deliberately so you wouldn't find it or something.”

“Of course he would,” Dirk said with a huff. “What's on the drive?”

“Just a PDF of an old interview I did,” Melissa said. “Mark and I already went through it and found nothing suspicious. There might be more on here, but this laptop's a little strange.”

“In what way?” Dirk asked.

“Well, it's pretty modern,” Mark said, “but it booted up like something from a decade ago and then wouldn't let us access anything other than the file on the USB drive.”

“Huh,” Dirk said. “Anything else?”

“Well, we needed to insert the USB to actually complete the boot-up process,” Melissa said. “Do you think that means anything?”

“It's all a program set to run at start-up,” Dirk said. “You were locked out of whatever's actually on there by either the USB _or_ something in the drivers. Nice find.”

“You can work around it, though, right?” Melissa asked.

“Might take me a while,” Dirk said. “People generally don't inject software to make a computer act like it's still 1996. I'll probably have to disassemble it to get to the real files, but I should be able to do something.”

“That's good,” Melissa said. She slid the laptop over to Dirk with the 'insert key to continue' screen displayed. “Here.”

“Hm,” Dirk said, tapping at the keyboard, then at his PDA. “This is… certainly something, at least.”

“Take this, too,” Melissa said, passing him the USB drive.

“Thanks, Dirk said. He inserted it, then tapped something on his PDA as the laptop switched to the locked file browser. “Yeah… some kind of sketchy software blocking access to anything. I can't handle it with just my PDA alone, but I have the tools in my room. Shouldn't be a problem.” He closed the laptop and pocketed the USB. “Mind if I borrow it?”

“Not at all,” Melissa said. “The more we know the better.”

“Give me a day or two and I'll have cracked it,” Dirk said with a small smile. “Anyway, does anyone else have any other discoveries to share?”

“Isn't that my line?” Marian said wryly before adopting a neutral expression. “At any rate, John and I searched the beach.”

“Ooh, the beach!” Naomi exclaimed. “How is it?! Is it as gorgeous as we've been led to believe?!”

“Actually, yes, it's stunning,” John added.

“Hell-la!” Naomi chirped.

“Anyway,” Marian said, clearing her throat. “We didn't find out much other than a storage shed with some basic beach supplies and some taunts from the mastermind.”

“Taunts?” Dirk asked. “Of what kind?”

“Just some writing inside the shed, mocking the fact that Shauna's beach party bonding activity never came to fruition,” Marian explained. “It was just another attempt by Monobear to get under our skin.”

“Still… that's a pretty low blow,” Wyatt said. “That bear's despair obsession is something else.”

“Indeed,” Marian said. “But, we also found something out about this school's lock system.”

“…Lock system?” Mark asked.

“Yeah,” John said. “Monobear explained that certain locked doors are… flagged as progression rewards, or something. And if we meet the requirements for the progression reward, we can ask Monobear to unlock the door permanently.”

“That's backwards video-game logic if I've ever heard it,” Nina said. “Did he mention how progression is measured?”

“No, but I imagine it has something to do with the school trials…” John said. “This is just speculation, but I think that if we successfully clear a school trial Monobear rewards us with more of the campus to explore.”

“Jeez,” Chelsea said. “That's screwed-up.”

“So in order to access vital information to help us, we have to pay the price of having two more of us die each time,” Dirk said. “It's the perfect motive to keep even those who will resist this game interested in the school trials. Diabolical.”

“So every execution equals more places unlocked?” Charlie said. “That's… horrible.”

“Yeah, but it's a good thing we have all we need right now, though isn't it?” Naomi said.

“…What do you mean?” Marian asked.

“Well, we pretty much have the whole campus available to us,” Naomi said. “Plus, the beach! How are we overlooking this fact!”

“I'm not following,” Chelsea said. “How is the beach gonna help us get outta here?”

“It won't!” Naomi said cheerfully. “But, it'll make sure that Monobear's stupid game doesn't continue!”

“How?” Carlos asked.

“Well, I've been thinking,” Naomi said. “Ever since the dance, we've all been pretty much entirely hella stressed, right? And being stressed over being locked up is what led to all that happening in the first place!”

“Naomi, you're not suggesting—” Dirk began.

“Shh! I'm not finished!” Naomi said. She smiled widely. “Anywho, it's not that much of a reach to assume that if we all stay stressed, Monobear's game's gonna happen again, and I think I speak for all of us when I say nobody wants anyone else to die!”

“Speak for yourself,” Chelsea said, folding her arms.

Naomi ignored her. “So! That's when it hit me! We should all unwind and spend time together so we can kill any and all distrust completely and totally dead!”

“Is this going where I think it's going?” Nina asked.

“Therefore, I propose that in the spirit of ending this killing game, we throw a beach party! Everyone can come and we can put a stop to the despair before it gets any worse!”

“Beach party?” Carlos asked.

“All of us?” Chelsea asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Naomi said. “The fourteen of us, together! I'm pretty sure we're allowed to take a break for one day! All this stress and worrying can't be good for anyone!”

“Fourteen,” Cheslea said flatly.

“Chelsea, don't—” Nina began.

Dirk scoffed from across the table. “Oh, so that's your problem,” he said. “So not only is Ella excluded from the central building, but she's also banned from any _extracurricular_ activities, too? I see how it is.”

“Dirk,” Marian warned.

“Do you really?” Chelsea challenged. “Because last I checked, _Dirk_ , you seem to think it's cool to defend someone who need I remind you _murdered_ Andrew and only got off on a technicality.”

“She made it pretty damn clear she regrets it,” Dirk said coolly. “I'd say ask her yourself, but oh look, she's too busy being a pariah.”

“We are not doing this right now,” Nina said. “Oh my God, we are seriously not going there.”

“Dunno,” Chelsea said. “Depends on how far defending an honest-to-God killer goes, doesn't it?”

“I don't know,” Dirk said. “I felt pretty ambivalent towards Shauna in the end. Maybe a little pity, but that's it. Wouldn't call it defending, really.”

“Don't play dumb, asshole!” Chelsea snapped. “We all know damn _well_ that Ella had just as much to do with that murder as Shauna did! How the fuck can you still care at _all_!”

“Guys, stop—” Mark began.

“So that's it?” Dirk said. “You think Ella's the enemy here? You seriously think she's the bigger threat than the mastermind behind Monobear? Seriously?”

“At least I can count on Monobear not being the one to goddamn _kill me_!” Chelsea shouted. “It's not gonna be _Monobear's_ fault when we're having a school trial because Ella murdered me! It's all gonna be on her!”

“Oh,” John said quietly. “So that's what's…”

Chelsea snapped her head towards him. “Can it, John! I'm really not in the mood to hear any of your bullshit psychoanalysis, okay?”

“You should probably listen to him,” Dirk said flatly. “You're being completely unreasonable here. Maybe that'll be the push to make you come to your senses.”

“Shut _up!_ ”

Without warning, Chelsea launched her plate of food across the table. It collided with Dirk's face, sending food flying everywhere. By the time the plate shattered against the floor, the room was silent.

Dirk stood up, grabbing the laptop. “You know what? I'm done,” he said. “Let me know when you decide to grow up, but until then, I'm not gonna have anything to do with you.”

“Dirk…” Naomi said.

“Look, this isn't going to work out if people can't get past blaming other people for Monobear's problems,” Dirk said. He turned away from the table. “I'm out.”

“Where are you going?” Marian asked.

“To see Ella,” Dirk said. “I'd like to be around some rational company while I try and take down the mastermind, not whatever heights of immaturity this is reaching.”

“You do that,” Chelsea said, red-faced. “Have fun screwing a killer. When she ends up putting a knife in your back don't say I didn't warn you.”

“You know, maybe the therapy beach party isn't such a bad idea,” Dirk said, still not facing the others. “If you can confront your feelings and stop lashing out, Chelsea, then maybe we can actually work together.”

Without another word, Dirk walked out of the cafeteria, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.

“That could've gone better,” Joel said.

“…Guess my idea was that bad, huh?” Naomi said to nobody in particular with a deflated sigh.

“I don't know if I'd say that, Naomi,” Marian said. “It's just that some people in our group have issues that need to be worked out.” She glanced at Chelsea. “You know, that display was uncalled for.”

“Whatever, _Mom_ ,” Chelsea said. “Just… how can you guys stand him? It's like he doesn't see how stupid he's being with Ella; are we really just gonna forget she helped kill someone?”

“Nobody's excusing that,” John added. “But bickering and fighting will only prolong our time here.”

“So will having to go through the school trial that Ella killing Dirk will cause,” Chelsea said, her voice softening. “Look, I don't… I don't hate Dirk. I just… I'm scared that he's gonna get killed cause he thinks he knows what he's doing, and… I don't want to go through another trial…”

Chelsea sniffed. Tears dripped from her face to the space on the table where her dinner had been mere moments ago. “I get so mad because it's so terrifying to see one of my friends get in so deep knowing that I can't help them if it all goes to shit. I'm just… I'm afraid, all right?”

“Chelsea…” Naomi said, leaning over to comfort her. Chelsea pushed her back.

“Don't,” she said softly. “I'm fine. It's this place, this goddamn game Monobear wants to play with us. It's awful… I can't stop thinking about who's gonna be next, or if someone else is gonna kill. It's the fact that it didn't begin and end with Andrew's trial that's the worst. We all know Ella's only still alive 'cause Monobear thinks it'll make things more interesting or whatever. And just… we're all forced to take a side and it's gonna tear us apart and I hate it so much.”

Marian said nothing for a long moment. She took a deep breath then turned to face Chelsea again. “You're not wrong in how you feel,” she said. “It was horrible this morning, seeing us so clearly divided. Monobear keeps trying to plant these seeds of distrust and fear to try and shatter our faith in each other. We can't let that happen any longer.”

Chelsea wiped away a tear. “But if you think—”

“I'm not asking you to forgive Ella,” Marian said. “I want all of us in this room to be able to trust each other. We won't get anywhere if we let fear win out. Naomi, I think you're right. We need a break from all this.”

“…Really?” Naomi said, her eyes lighting up. “You really think so?”

“Yes,” Marian said. “I think a day at the beach would do us all some good, even if it's not quite everyone.”

“I wouldn't worry about that last part,” Mark said. “Dirk's busy with the laptop, and I don't think Ella would accept even if she was invited. But for the rest of us, it shouldn't be a problem right?”

He looked to see a sea of shaking heads.

“So it's decided,” Marian said. “Naomi, what plans do you have?”

“Well, we still have all the stuff piled up from when Shauna planned a beach trip,” Naomi said. “I was thinking we could take all that and finish what she couldn't, if that doesn't sound too morbid.”

“I don't think so,” Melissa said. “I think it's a great way to remember our friends.”

“There are also some supplies in the storage shed at the beach,” Marian said. “We could get one of the portable stoves running and have a barbecue, if anyone here's a competent cook.”

“I'm not half bad myself,” Joel said. “I could probably handle it.”

“Ooh! That sounds neat!” Naomi said. “There's like a ton of stuff in the kitchen freezers we could use!”

“There's also a volleyball set and some inflatables,” Marian said. “So we could do that as well.”

“It'll be like our very own fanservice episode,” Nina said with a giggle. “Only, no perverted bears allowed.”

“That goes without saying,” Marian said.

“Plus, you don't need to worry if you wanna go for a swim,” Joel said. He winked. “I think I'm qualified to help out there.”

“Woo-hoo!” Naomi exclaimed. “This is gonna be awesome!”

“Uh, just one question,” Carlos said. “What if Monobear interrupts it again? Like, what if he tries to give out another motive?”

“We ignore it,” Marian said. “And if we absolutely have to hear him out, we go ahead with the beach day anyway. No matter what it is, we won't let him have any further leeway at all.”

“I'm okay with ignoring him,” Ben said. “That's never really been a bad idea.”

“So, uh, what time do we start at?” Charlie asked.

“Any itinerary ideas, Naomi?” Marian asked.

“Not really,” Naomi said. “Just so long as it happens.”

“Then mind if I make a suggestion?”

“Feel free!” Naomi said with a smile.

“All right,” Marian said. “How's this: we all meet up in the cafeteria for breakfast, finish loading whatever we need to the supply pile, then head out before noon. We could probably start cooking the food later in the afternoon, and if it's possible, try and keep it going until Night Time. How does that sound?”

“I'm okay with that,” Melissa said.

“I mean, nobody here really has a schedule for anything else,” Joel said. “But yeah, I think that sounds pretty good.”

“So that's the plan,” Marian said. “We'll all meet up here tomorrow and go from there.” She smiled. “Be sure to bring your swimsuits.”

“Whoo!” Naomi shouted. “This is gonna be hella awesome! Finally, something not awful around here!”

“You know, I'm down to relax an entire day,” Chelsea said. “It's not like anyone will feasibly try to murder someone else in broad daylight, and it'd be too obvious if Ella kills Dirk while we're all away, so it's a foolproof day off. I'm in.”

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _ _Attention you bastards. It is now ten pm, meaning that it is officially Night Time. The cafeteria will soon be locked, and the hallway lights turned off. Pleasant dreams!”__

“So then,” Marian said, standing up from the table. “See you all tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” Melissa said.

“Sleep well, everyone,” John said.

All twelve students filtered out of the cafeteria and through the darkened hallways to their dorm rooms. Everyone soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep, dreaming in anticipation of tomorrow's activities.

For the first time in days, nobody thought about murder.

-

Under the cover of darkness, in that place, Dirk sat tapping away at the laptop. He'd managed to bypass the software restrictions with ease, leaving the computer's secrets ripe for the taking. The hard drive hummed and whirred as he navigated his way through hundreds of restricted files, the computer helpless to prevent its secrets from being laid bare.

After opening up a particular file, Dirk stopped. An uneasy smile crossed his face. “Well then…” he said.

“What is it?” Ella asked, stepping forth from the shadows. She looked around anxiously.

“It appears that there's something our dearly beloved mastermind has overlooked,” Dirk said. He motioned to the screen.

“That's…” Ella said. “Oh my God. If you – if we manage to…”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “It's checkmate for Monobear.”

“But what about the others?” Ella asked. “How will they…”

“It'll take time,” Dirk said. “We still don't know who to trust – there's still a possibility of _that_ being the case.”

“You think so…” Ella said with a frown.

“It just seems more and more likely,” Dirk said. “Especially after how today went down, it's all but confirmed.”

“So what do we do?” Ella asked.

“We sit tight for now,” Dirk said. “I'm afraid that before we can even consider this, there needs to be another school trial.”

“You… you really think there's going to be one?” Ella asked. “Even with how everyone is?”

“Either someone's gonna lose their cool, or…” Dirk displayed another file. “More likely, I think Monobear's going to bring out a motive after seeing the way everyone was today. The mastermind won't be able to stand seeing everyone resist despair like that. Whatever motive's coming… it's gonna be nasty.”

“In that case, there really will be one…” Ella said. “How long until the next trial?”

“If things progress as they are?” Dirk said, expressionless. “No more than three days.”

“And there's no other way?” Ella asked. Dirk shook his head. “In that case, when it happens, what do we do?”

“Do not rouse suspicion in any way,” Dirk said, dropping his voice to nearly a whisper. “As far as everyone's concerned, you're the remorseful accomplice who's been cast out, and I'm the cocky one in way over my head. No matter what goes down when it finally happens, we need to maintain the image everyone has of us. It's crucial that we do _not_ give the game away.”

“If _they_ find out what's really going on…” Ella said.

Dirk nodded. “Then it's game over for us, and everyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapters should probably come a little quicker than this since i now have an actual chapter-by-chapter plan for this story so don't worry about it vanishing again lol. 
> 
> of course, feel free to comment any speculations. i know i laid it on heavy with the hints for such an early chapter in the overall plot but to be fair over the course of writing it i entertained four different endgame scenarios and three different victim-killer layouts so have fun filtering out the red herrings from the real clues.
> 
> see you in the next one.


	14. Despair's Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey. told you i'd be faster with the next one.
> 
> alternative chapter titles include "everyone raises a death flag" and "help i'm too attached to these kids how can i rest easy knowing so many of them are going to die"
> 
> i apologise if there are any mistakes/errors - i'm literally posting this seconds after finishing it since i have places to be today and i hate sitting on finished chapters.
> 
> there's also some stuff in the end notes for you to read if you're interested about things that occur in this chapter.

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! It is now seven am, marking the end of Night Time. The cafeteria has been unlocked, and the lights turned on. Here's to another day of mutual killing! Upupu~”_

Marian was the first to reach the cafeteria, a short ten minutes after the morning announcement. Truth be told, she'd woken a little earlier than seven, but the memories of the trial and execution were still a little too fresh.

Unsurprisingly, all evidence of dinner and Chelsea's mess had been completely removed overnight. As per usual, the cafeteria was devoid of any food. Marian walked through to the kitchen and brewed herself a cup of coffee, before taking her seat at the large central table.

She was midway through her first sip when the next person arrived: Charlie.

“Morning,” Marian said.

“Good morning,” Charlie replied, sitting across from her. She smiled wistfully. “It's beautiful this morning, isn't it?”

“Isn't it always?” Marian mused. “The weather's been perfect practically every day.”

“It's the tropical late summer,” Charlie said. “It's the best time of year to grow plants that require more sunlight than others.”

“Really?” Marian said. “That's pretty interesting.”

Charlie nodded. “I've been thinking of trying to use some of the empty space in the garden to cultivate something of my own, but…”

“But?”

“I just… I don't know,” Charlie explained. “It feels a little too much like I'm accepting living here, and if we escaped I'd have to leave my plants behind in the care of Monobear. I don't know if I could comfortably do that…”

“That's perfectly reasonable,” Marian replied. “I'm not confessing to be an expert gardener of any kind, but I wouldn't trust Monobear with anything, especially not anything of value.”

Charlie let out a sigh. “It's a shame, too…” she said. “I really wanted to show you guys some of my plants, before…”

“I see,” Marian said. “Well, how's about this: when we get out of here, you show us your own garden that gave you your ETL title. It'd be fascinating to say the least.”

“Really?” Charlie said, her eyes lighting up. “You really think that it'd be interesting?”

“I'm interested,” Marian said. “I might not have the technical knowledge like you do, but if there are two things I love they're pretty gardens and supporting my friends.”

“You truly think so?” Charlie asked. When Marian nodded, she started to tear up. “Wow, that's… I'm touched.”

“Don't mention it,” Marian said. She smiled wryly. “I'd offer to show you some of my court case files in return, but don't think it would be in good taste, considering. And the not so murdery ones aren't that interesting, if I'm being honest.”

“That doesn't matter,” Charlie said. “If it's your passion, of course I'm going to be interested. Friends support each other, right?”

“Right,” Marian said. “So, it's a promise?”

“Promise,” Charlie said.

At the same time, Nina and Carlos walked in, grabbing some food from the kitchen before sitting down.

“Morning,” Marian said.

“Good morning,” Carlos said, sitting next to Charlie.

“Sleep well?” Nina asked.

“You could say,” Marian said. “About as well as you can forty-eight hours after what we've been through.”

“I hope that doesn't mean you'll be too tired for our beach day,” Nina said teasingly. “I play a mean game of volleyball and I want you on the winning team.”

“In that case, how could I possibly let you down?” Marian said, giving a faux salute.

Nina giggled to herself. “I'll hold you to that promise, then,” she said. “If we don't play to win, what's the point of playing?”

“Having fun?” Carlos pointed out. “It isn't quite a video game, you know?”

“Still,” Nina said. She winked. “So long as if we're opposing each other we both try to kick the other's butt as hard as possible.”

“Of course,” Carlos said with a smile. “There's no fun if there's not _some_ good-natured competition, you know?”

“Totally,” Nina said. “I'm not talking anything like those douchebag pro-gamer types who seem to think you haven't won unless you've completely humiliated the other side…”

“That a thing that happens a lot?” Carlos asked.

Nina nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Especially with my multiplayer FPS games – a certain circle of players seems to think that they're entitled to dominate both the leaderboards and the public sessions.”

“That sucks,” Carlos said. “Isn't there anything you can do about it?”

“Oh, there is,” Nina said with a grin. “You see, I like to play my own games as much as I like to develop them, so imagine these guys when the girl behind the game comes in and completely kicks their asses to the curb.”

“Wow,” Carlos said.

“It's an unorthodox method of maintaining a friendly, positive community space,” Nina said with a shrug, “but it's one that works.”

“And you manage to keep it up with all your online games?” Carlos asked.

“Well, I'm not alone,” Nina said. “I may be a one-woman triple-A indie game team, but I do have some approved community moderators to keep things running smoothly. I'd never get any work done if I had to spend all my time keeping assholes from ruining the online communities!”

“Do a lot of your games have those problems?” Carlos asked.

“Actually, it's gotten a little better over the last year or so,” Nina said sheepishly. “I've been kinda panned by pro-gamer media sites for being too PC or whatever – so the worst of the bunch have decided to boycott me until the gaming industry decides that we should stop censoring games that are blatantly offensive on multiple fronts.”

“They really did that? That's… actually really dumb of them,” Carlos said.

“Whatever,” Nina said. “They're hardly the audience I want anyway. I like to aim for inclusivity in my games, you know? I want them to reach the widest audience possible.”

“So that's why games like Carefree Starlight are so diverse in how they unfold?” Carlos said.

“Pretty much!” Nina said. “But even though I'm really proud of Carefree Starlight, I still have a long way to go.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “You know, it's my dream to one day create a game that can accommodate anyone's style of play and can represent any type of person and experience. A game that can truly be universally played and enjoyed… that's what I really want to do.”

“That's quite an admirable dream,” Carlos said.

“What's your dream?” Nina asked.

“Huh,” Carlos said. “That's difficult to say, really… I've never really had a concrete dream or goal or anything – I kind of just fell into my blogging without thinking, and even there I have nothing long-term planned for it. I guess I just don't really see myself as the ambitious type like that.”

“I suppose that's fine, too,” Nina said. “It would be wrong to assume that you can only get anywhere in life by having ambitions or dreams – it's just about choosing to walk down that path when you get on it.”

“That's pretty sound advice, if you don't mind my eavesdropping,” Marian said.

“I agree,” Carlos said.

“Hey!” Nina said, her eyes lighting up in inspiration. “That's actually a really good concept for a game! Hundreds of different paths to walk down that all depend on who you are and how you approach life! Genius! Thanks, guys! I always end up feeling inspired whenever I talk to any of you.”

“Uh, you're welcome?” Carlos said.

“Whatever we can do to help, I suppose,” Marian said.

“This is really good,” Nina said. “Maybe… yeah! That's how I could start it out!”

“Start what out?” Carlos asked.

“The game!” Nina exclaimed. “Oh man, how could I be so dense! The answer's right there!”

“You're talking too fast and not really saying much of anything,” Marian said. “Could you explain what you mean?”

“Oh! Sorry! I just got a little excited there,” Nina said, scratching the back of her head nervously. “I just realised that you guys would be a great basis for a game focused on diverse and rewarding paths. I mean, you've all achieved greatness in your own different ways, and what could be cooler than adapting the ETL experience into a video game?”

“I'm not big on games, but that does sound pretty impressive,” Marian said.

“Yeah, yeah…” Nina said, deep in thought. “I know, we could do a dev session! I could work with each of you guys to bring everyone's perspective and thoughts together, and go about implementing our unique experiences into a game we could all truly enjoy. Of course, a dozen options isn't a complete game, but as an alpha test it would be quite solid, and we could use it as an opportunity to come even closer and start the creation of something truly wonderful…” She trailed off, rambling further and further.

“That's all well and good,” Marian said. “But I hope you haven't forgotten our beach day?”

“No, not at all!” Nina said. “It's just an idea right now, anyway, and it'd take more than a day to get a picture of everyone's experiences _and_ implement it into a playable game, so I wouldn't dream of taking away from today! I'm thinking of maybe asking around today and seeing if anyone's interested, then arranging times to speak with everyone to get the project started.”

“Well, uh, I'm interested,” Charlie said softly.

“Really?” Nina asked. “That's awesome, Charlie!”

Charlie smiled bashfully. “I really like the idea of a game that can bring everyone's experiences together,” she said. “If you're okay with it, I could meet up with you to talk about it tomorrow, maybe?”

“That sounds great!” Nina said. “Yeah, starting our tomorrow sounds good – maybe we could meet up in the IT room?”

“Really?” Charlie said. “I mean, not to sound too negative, but isn't that where…?”

“I know,” Nina said, “but think of it this way: we can make sure we stop associating it as a place of murder and instead turn it into a place that represents our collective unity. Anything to get us to stop thinking of Monobear and his game.”

“Hey guys, what's going on here?” Chelsea said, walking up to the table and taking a seat. She was shortly followed by John, Melissa, Wyatt, and Ben.

“Morning, guys,” Ben said. As soon as he sat down he started drawing. Wyatt sat next to him, drinking from a cup of coffee.

“Good morning,” Melissa said with a warm smile.

“Hey,” Carlos said. “Nina was just talking about her plans for us all to work together to create a game about us and our experiences.”

“Oh?” John said.

“I mean, it's much less lame than it sounds,” Nina said. “But the whole point of the game is to bring as many human experiences together in a way that everyone can connect with, and I figured what could be a better starting point than my friends?”

“Wait, so like we'd be in a video game?” Chelsea asked. “Dude, that's awesome!”

“Well, maybe not exactly Chelsea Dennis, the ETL Ballerina,” Nina said. “But for all intents and purposes, you would represent one of the ways to play the game.”

“Ah, so we'd all contributing diverging points in a sweeping narrative?” Melissa said. “That sounds pretty interesting; I've always had an interest in interactive fiction.”

“Kind of,” Nina said. “But think of it less like branching points from the main storyline, and instead think of hundreds of unique storylines that connect and intersect at various points that are all complete in their own right.”

“That certainly sounds… expansive,” Melissa said.

Nina shrugged. “Not to devalue it, but I don't imagine it'll be as much work as Carefree Starlight,” she said. “All the storylines will embody the same themes and overall tone, unlike Carefree Starlight which went off in a hundred directions.”

“Either way, it sounds really cool,” Ben said. “I'd be honoured to contribute.”

“Me too,” Wyatt added.

“Guys,” Nina said with a wide smile. “That's great! Thank you all so much!”

“So, uh, what's the plan for this anyway?” John asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Nina said. “We were thinking of meeting up in the IT room tomorrow sometime? I'm thinking probably for individual consultation sessions so I can get a clear picture for each of you one at a time and properly lay the groundwork, and then we could all hang around together and have a large group session talking about where to go with it.”

“I'd be on board with that,” John said. “And after today's beach day, a less physically strenuous experience would be really welcome.”

“Awesome!” Nina exclaimed. “I'll need to think about the timings today, but group game dev session is officially confirmed!”

“Hey, not to burst this bubble or anything,” Marian said. “But we seem to be missing some people.”

“Huh?” Carlos said. He looked around the table. “Oh, yeah.”

“Well, I mean, we're obviously gonna be down two,” Chelsea said, folding her arms. “Since Dirk's clearly made his priorities clear and we are not going to ruin today by talking about Ella.”

“Well, ignoring them for now…” Carlos said. “Joel, Mark, and Naomi aren't here yet.”

“You're right,” Marian said. “Has anyone seen them?”

“Yeah, I did,” Wyatt said. “Well, Mark at least. He said he was going to help Naomi and Joel get the supplies together for the beach day. Apparently the carts Shauna put together were moved to the storage room near the dorms for some reason with some of the stuff missing, so they have to refill them and bring them down two floors which will take some effort.”

“Mystery solved, at least,” John commented.

“I shouldn't even be surprised that Monobear would try and sabotage this somehow,” Marian said. “I hope they're managing okay.”

“Mark said it didn't look like much was missing,” Wyatt said. “And Joel and Naomi are pretty fast workers so I don't imagine it'll take too long.”

“They'll still have to grab some food from here,” Nina said. “Let's hope they don't miss breakfast at least—”

“Whoo! Hey everyone!”

Everyone looked around to see Naomi burst through the cafeteria doors, followed by Mark and Joel who were pushing a large supply cart each.

“Ah, you guys made it,” Nina said.

“Well, yeah,” Joel said with an easy smile. “Nobody here seriously thought something had happened to us, right?”

“Not quite,” Marian said. “But, we would have appreciated if you'd have checked in with the rest of us before vanishing for a while.”

“My bad, sorry!” Naomi said. “I was just so excited for the beach day that I roped Mark and Joel into helping me without a second thought for the rest of you guys! If it helps, we used that time to get a bunch more stuff, including _swimsuits_ ~”

“Why… do you say it like that?” Carlos asked.

“Isn't it obvious?” Naomi said. “You know, _swimsuits_?”

“Please tell me this is exaggeration,” Wyatt said. “Because I'd sooner show up late and design my own from scratch than—”

Naomi let out a high laugh. “Duh, of course I'm messing around!” she said. “We just grabbed a bunch of different designs, styles, and colours from the pool. What, you didn't think I was implying there were _sexytimes_ ahead, were you?”

“Oh my God,” Wyatt said with a groan. Next to him, Ben started laughing.

“Well, I guess needless fanservice averted,” Nina said.

Naomi laughed again. “Then again, we're all so gorgeous that even fully clothed we're fanservice central,” she said. “Too hot to kill, and too hot to despair!” She struck a ridiculous pose.

“I can feel Monobear rolling in his grave as we speak,” John said with a smirk. “It's good to have the worst of it all behind us.”

“Yeah!” Naomi said. “We can detox ourselves of all these horrible feelings, then it's full speed ahead to escaping!”

“There's certainly an optimism to the air,” Marian said. “You know, I think that we really have a chance to beat this game and get off the island if things keep going like this.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “We'll all get out of here, together.”

“And on that positive note,” Mark said. “Who wants to help us pick out some food to bring with us? Joel was great and found a couple of coolers for us to use.”

“Anyone have any preferences?” Joel asked.

“Just so long as it's a solid beach barbecue menu I'm cool,” Chelsea said.

“Noted,” Joel said.

“If it's not too much of a problem, could I suggest picking up some vegetarian options?” Marian said.

“Sure,” Mark said.

“You can't forget ice cream,” Carlos said. “What's a day at the beach without ice cream?”

“Ooh! Ice cream! I can't believe I forgot about that!” Naomi exclaimed. She smiled widely. “Barbecues, ice cream, and having fun with all my friends! Today is gonna be _awesome_!”

And then, as if on cue… _it_ happened.

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _A-hem!! This is an important announcement from the headmaster of Sun's Joy Academy. All students are required to come to the meeting hall at once. It's urgent!”_

A hushed silence fell over the cafeteria as everyone looked around at each other.

“ _And yes, this means everyone! Full attendance is mandatory, so don't think you can get away with not showing up with some lame excuse like being a group expatriate under normal circumstances! In fact, I'm declaring these to be exceptional circumstances – all restrictions on exiled students have temporarily been lifted! See you all soon… upupu…”_

The PA system clicked off.

“That was…” Wyatt began.

Marian promptly stood from her seat. A grim look was on her face. “Whatever he's about to say or do—do _not_ let it get to you. Remember, the goal is to ignore him and this game he's trying to play with us. If need be, focus on the beach day ahead of us instead. We can't let him win.”

“Still,” Mark said. “We don't know what he's going to do…”

“It could be like yesterday morning again…” Nina said. “That—that wouldn't be good.”

“Or, what if he locks us in this building again?” Chelsea said. “You know, to get an ironic kick out of history repeating itself?”

“I don't think it'll be anything like that, I hope,” Melissa said. “I mean, having our plans for a day at the beach get thwarted at the last minute by suddenly restricting our movement has already been done. Monobear's aiming for a murder mystery – repeating events and motive is not something that happens.”

“Yeah, but this isn't a story,” Joel said. “What's it matter if we get the same things over again?”

“I think Monobear would get bored too easily if that were the case,” John said. “As we saw with the school trial, he tends to favour the flashy and dramatic. Repeating past events would make this killing game grow very stale very quickly.”

“Anyway,” Marian said. “Whatever it is, we'll get past it. We'll ignore it.”

“And then we can head to the beach?” Naomi said.

“I think it'll be a welcome distraction,” Marian said. “Because that's what we're doing today – we _aren't_ going to listen to whatever Monobear would want us to do.”

“All right…” Ben said. “If that's what you say.”

“I think we need to be a little more positive,” Carlos said. “I mean, there's nothing that says this has to be bad, right? Besides, I don't think we can really get any worse than yesterday…”

“Yeah, I think you're right,” Charlie said softly. “We just need to stay positive.”

“Let's go then,” Marian said. “Bad thing or not, it's probably not a wise idea to keep Monobear waiting.”

-

Everyone filed out of the cafeteria, leaving the supplies for the beach behind, and headed downstairs to the meeting room's large double doors. Marian took a step forward, then turned to everyone else.

“Remember,” she said. “Don't let his despair get to you. We'll be fine, okay? Just believe in us if you can't believe in what's beyond this door.”

“Yeah,” Naomi said. “Just think about how much fun we'll have at the beach later on instead, yeah?”

Marian turned towards the double doors, took a deep breath, then grabbed the handles. “Okay, let's go.”

She opened the doors and stepped into the meeting hall, followed shortly by the others. Just like yesterday, the meeting hall was completely empty. Everyone's footsteps echoed around as they filed inside.

“I wonder what he wants…” Nina said.

“Whatever it is, I hope it's over with quickly,” Melissa said.

“I mean, he's not here…” Ben said.

“He'd better hurry,” Chelsea said, folding her arms. “I swear to God, if he makes us wait…”

“Uh, what's that?” John said. He pointed to the far side of the room, just in front of the stage.

The first thing of notice was that Dirk and Ella were already there, looking at each other with unreadable expressions. The second was that there was a large pedestal in front of the stage, with a glass dome over the top.

“Dirk,” Marian said by way of greeting as she walked up to them.

“Yo,” Dirk said flatly. “By the way, if anyone's thinking of going off towards Ella—”

“We heard the announcement,” Marian said. She turned to Ella. “We know you have no choice but to be here, so nobody's going to make an issue. Everyone's just going to keep to themselves, and we should be on our way before any confrontations arise.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Ella said softly. She looked over to the rest of the students, where a few of them were trying their hardest to pretend she wasn't there. Chelsea, however, stared right at her. “Do you know anything more than us?”

“Sorry, no,” Marian said. “We were all in the cafeteria when Monobear made the announcement, so nobody's really sure what's going on.” She then motioned to the pedestal. “What's with that?”

“Take a look,” Dirk said, motioning to it. Under the glass was what looked like an old-fashioned rotary dial telephone, half-white, half-black. There was also a digital timer on the pedestal that read **00:00:00**.

“Any ideas?” Marian asked.

“I think the phone's connected to the timer, but other than that, no,” Dirk said.

“Hey, uh, has it been here since the two of you arrived?” Mark asked. The majority of the students had moved closer to the stage, the only notable exception being Chelsea who hung around behind everyone else.

“Yes,” Dirk said. “And, it's not operating under any kind of network – the timer might be connected to something, but since I can't look at the wiring, I won't be able to say for sure until it starts up.”

“Is it just me or is this really not making sense,” Joel said.

“Yeah, no, it's not,” Carlos said. “Why is there an old-fashioned phone linked with a timer? I don't get it.”

“It's probably related to whatever Monobear called us here for,” Wyatt commented. “Which means it probably doesn't matter at all.”

“Huh?” Dirk said. “I'm pretty sure Monobear doesn't do insignificant.”

“It's our way of stopping the School Life of Mutual Killing,” John said. “If nobody pays attention to Monobear or anything he throws at us, then the foundations of the game crumble and we can instead devote our time to finding an escape.”

“But could it really be that simple?” Ella asked.

“Well, yeah!” Naomi commented. “Because if nobody's willing to kill or fall into despair, then there's no game to play, right? And there's nothing in Monobear's rules that say we can't do that, so we can totally ignore the killing in favour of trusting each other and finding a way out!”

“Sorry if that shoots any murder plans you have down,” Chelsea said bitterly.

Ella looked down. “…”

“Chelsea,” Marian warned.

“Nobody's dying,” Nina said. “Let's not imagine any other possibility.”

“So you all choose to have hope,” Dirk said. “I'm not gonna shoot it down or anything – in fact, it takes guts to have that much faith and trust in each other, even under these circumstances.”

“Well, of course,” Joel said. “Anything to stop Monobear from being relevant, right?”

“Irrelevant? Are you bastards really calling _me_ irrelevant? Oh, that's rich! If I cared, I'd be hurt!”

All eyes turned to the stage as Monobear leaped up from behind the podium and landed on top.

“So you decided to show up, at last,” Dirk said scathingly.

“I think you'll find I'm fashionably late!” Monobear retorted. He tilted his head playfully. “Not that punctuality or time really matter in this school or anything – the School Life of Mutual Killing is a strong, independent murder game that don't need no deadline!”

“Never say that again,” Dirk said.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Monobear said. “The School Life of Mutual Killing is a strong, independent—”

“Agh, just stop already!” Naomi said. “What do you want with us?!”

“Some of us did have other plans, you know,” Ben said.

“Yeah, this is seriously cutting into the time we have to do better things,” Nina said.

“Upupu… what is it I want?” Monobear asked. “Why, isn't it obvious?”

“Does it have something to do with whatever contraption you've set up here?” John asked.

“Bingo! The ETL Empath wins the prize of top student!” Monobear chirped. “Almost like you can read my mind! Scary, huh?”

“Just…” John said, faltering. “Just explain what's going on, please…”

“Okie dokie! Since you asked so nicely…” Monobear leaped off the podium and stood centre stage, posing playfully. “This here is a motive for you bastards!”

“…Motive?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah!” Monobear replied. “You know, kinda like why I locked you bastards in here a few days ago! A motive to get the blood pumping, running, and splattering everywhere!”

“And a telephone on a podium under a glass dome with a timer attached is supposed to drive us to murder?” Dirk asked. “Oh, do elaborate.”

“Yeah, I don't see how a phone is gonna be a murder motive,” Chelsea said.

“As far as motives go, I've read amateur fanfictions with stronger murder motives,” Melissa said. “I don't… _how_ is this in any way going to serve to perpetuate this game of yours?”

“Hey! I was just about to get to that!” Monobear snapped. “Oh, I don't make something crystal clear and suddenly I'm a second rate hack?! Oh, what a cruel, cruel world we live in…”

“Go on, then, clarify,” Marian said sternly. “Stop wasting everyone's collective time and spill the beans.”

“Upupu… well, if you really want to know,” Monobear said, his red eye glowing. “I'm sure everyone's aware of the fact that ever since you've arrived here, access to the internet and phone networks has been pretty much non-existent and have been completely isolated from the outside world.”

“Yeah, so?” Ben said.

“So then, I think it would be of interest to you bastards to know that I'm offering an opportunity to connect with the outside world!”

“You're what?!” Nina asked.

“Seriously?” Chelsea said.

“Yep!” Monobear said, blushing. “On the pedestal before you is my very own MonoPhone! It comes equipped with all the state-of-the-art technology, like being able to remotely communicate with another human being despite any outside influences or disruption!”

“So that's why it's so old,” Dirk said. “Something that pre-dates modern mobile networks would of course be able to bypass any wireless restrictions.”

“Wait, so does this phone really work?” Wyatt asked, sounding more desperate than he intended.

“Why, of course!” Monobear said. “The MonoPhone is guaranteed to connect instantly to any number you want to call. But, there is a downside…”

“Downside?” Mark asked.

“Yep!” Monobear said. “Because our budget can just barely accommodate international calls, the MonoPhone can unfortunately make just the one call before being forcibly and permanently disconnected from the network!”

“So, we get one free phone call? No restrictions?” Dirk asked incredulously.

“Indeed!” Monobear said. “Of course, I know what you're thinking – and yes, this phone can connect to emergency services! Police, military, the government – if you know the number, you can go ahead and call it! Of course, I'd recommend against such a futile endeavour, since rescue is impossible, but who am I to crush your worthless dreams?”

“Okay then, what _do_ you recommend we use the one phone call for?” Wyatt asked.

“Why, that's for you to decide!” Monobear said. “Maybe you want to call up a loved one and give them the goodbye you never could, or maybe you want to call up that one childhood friend just to let them know you have feelings for them before you die, or maybe you just want to call up an enemy and give them one last eff you! The sky's your limit!”

“That explains the phone,” Carlos said. “What about the timer?”

“Oh, that's part two of the conditions attached to the phone call!” Monobear said. “Just in case the promise of talking to the outside world wasn't enough, I've added a little insurance to make sure that this really does get the old murder instinct up and running. Once you've picked up the phone, the timer on the pedestal will activate with a forty-eight hour countdown!”

“A countdown to what?” Chelsea asked.

“Your deadline!” Monobear announced. “Once you pick the phone up, you will have forty-eight hours to either commit a murder, or be executed by yours truly! So basically by choosing to use the phone, you are effectively agreeing to the forfeit of at least one life! Plus, the countdown timer will signal to the rest of you bastards that a) you were too slow in getting to the phone and b) someone here has decided that their life has more objective value than yours! Isn't it wonderfully despair-inducing?!”

“That's… what…?” Mark asked, going pale.

“That's horrible…” Charlie said, tears in her eyes.

“It's just a fact of life!” Monobear said. “Everything has a price, and if you're not willing to pay that price, then you've given up your right to live!”

“What kind of flawed thinking is that?!” Naomi asked.

“Hey, don't blame me!” Monobear said with a shrug. “Blame capitalism!”

“You know what? No,” Dirk said. “I'm done talking to you and acknowledging your existence.”

“That's… what a cruel motive…” Melissa said. “This is heinous, dangling something so coveted before us, only to set the price in blood.”

“Blah blah, save it for your next book cover,” Monobear said. His red eye flashed. “That is, if you live that long… who knows who this motive will clam? Upupu…”

“Nobody.” Marian took a step forward, glaring at Monobear. “Nobody will die as a result of this motive, I'm telling you that right now.”

“Oh, I'm _so_ scared,” Monobear said. “What are you gonna do, Miss ETL Lawyer? _Sue me_?”

“I'm going to prevent anyone else from falling victim to your game,” Marian said. “Nobody is falling into this trap of yours.”

“We'll see about that…” Monobear said. “Upupu…”

“Are you quite done talking?” Dirk asked. “Because you've said everything that could be construed as useful. You're just wasting oxygen at this point.”

“I'm hurt!” Monobear crooned, feigning a faint. “And after I so graciously spared Miss ETL Sound Engineer from execution!”

“Leave. Now.”

“Bleh, whatever!” Monobear snapped. “Have it your way then, you bastards! I'll see you around, but I wonder which of you bastards will cross the event horizon first? After all, despair is but a call away… Upupu…”

And with that, Monobear left the students in the meeting hall in varying states of distress.

“This is the worst kind of motive,” John said with a frown. “It's deliberately designed to play upon both our base vulnerabilities and our sophisticated desires. If we're not careful, this could be a truly diabolical trap.”

“You know, anyone could fall for it, too,” Nina said. “You could equally choose to sacrifice yourself in an attempt to call for help as you could sacrifice someone else for a few minutes of conversation…”

“We'll all know, too,” Chelsea added. “Once that countdown starts, we'll know someone has betrayed our trust…”

“Guys…” Naomi said dejectedly.

“It doesn't matter,” Marian said. “We're ignoring it. Nobody here is falling victim to Monobear's trap. Unlike the last motive, we can walk away from this one. And we _will_.”

“You're so confident…” Chelsea said. “There's no way we could—”

“We'll all be at the beach today,” Marian said. “Away from this phone. Nobody will have the opportunity to go near it.”

“But can you really keep an eye on twelve people?” Chelsea said. “It wouldn't be hard for someone to slip away while we're all distracted and—”

“We'll stay here,” Ella said, a determined expression on her face. “We'll keep watch over the phone and make sure nobody tries to use it.”

“Nice try,” Chelsea said. “Like that gives me _any_ confidence that a murder won't happen. Would you like me to give you a selection of murder weapons while you're at it?”

“There'll be two of us here,” Dirk said, giving Chelsea a scrutinising look. “Only one of us can use the phone, so it won't be hard to find out who. And, if one of us ends up dead, you'll have your culprit straight away.”

“Still—” Chelsea began.

“We're the two most distrusted people here,” Ella said plainly. “If the worst happens, there'll be no point hiding it and prolonging everyone's agony. Besides, wouldn't you rather have the people you'll miss the least end up dead than one of your friends?”

“She… has a point,” Ben said hesitantly.

“…Whatever,” Chelsea said with a frown. “Do what you want. Just, like, don't die, all right? I don't have the energy to care about going through another school trial.”

“Thank you,” Ella said. She turned to Marian. “In that case, am I permitted to stay in this room as long as we need to protect people from the motive?”

“Of course,” Marian said. “So long as you both stay together.”

“I won't do anything I shouldn't,” Ella said.

“And thank you,” Marian said with a small smile. “Both of you. This is a brave move, and it's a relief to know you'll be keeping everyone a little safer.”

“So long as Monobear doesn't get the last laugh here,” Dirk said. “You guys have fun with whatever it is you're doing exactly, and don't worry: we have this under control.”

“Thanks, you two,” John said. “So then, are we done here?”

“I think so,” Marian said. “Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”

“Uh, talking about what kinda food to take with us?” Joel said.

“Oh yeah! I remember now!” Naomi said, clapping her hands together. “We were talking ice cream!”

“Well, we never did reach a consensus on which flavours to bring…” Nina said. “So, should we head back upstairs and continue our discussion?”

“Yes, let's,” Marian said. “So how about we spend, say, the next hour or so deciding on which kinds of food we're bringing with us.”

“It's just turned ten now,” John said, “so would it be right to say we should aim to be at the beach for noon?”

“I'm cool with that,” Naomi said. “We could start off with a beach lunch! Wouldn't that be awesome!”

“It probably would,” Joel said. “There's not much on this earth that's better than food on the beach.”

“So it's decided then,” Marian said. “We should all be at the beach for noon, which gives everyone some time to get ready themselves. And just so everyone's clear, who's going to help carry the supplies across?”

“Me!” Naomi announced.

“I've already been helping out so far, so yeah, I'll do it,” Joel said.

“I guess I could keep helping out,” Mark said. “As long as I can take a quick break to grab my camera.”

“That should be fine,” Marian said.

“Hey, I guess you'll need some muscle with all the stuff we're bringing, so I'm in,” Chelsea said.

“If you don't mind, I'd like to help out, too,” Nina added.

“So that gives us five people helping with the supplies,” John said.

“Make it seven if you count the two of us,” Marian said. “We know our way to the beach so we can help everything move along smoothly. As for everyone else, feel free to use this time as you see fit and make your way to the beach for twelve. Is everyone okay with that?”

“I think so,” Melissa said.

Wyatt gave a nod. “Yeah, I'm good.”

“I don't have any problems,” Carlos said.

“I think we can say everyone's on the same page,” John said. “So, if you're not helping out with the supplies, we'll see you at twelve?”

“See you all then,” Marian said.

“Stay safe,” Dirk called out as everyone filed out of the meeting hall.

-

After leaving the meeting hall and parting ways with Charlie for the time being, Carlos found himself wandering the campus and enjoying the soft sea breeze. As he wandered around to the front of the central building, he found Ben sitting on the large fountain, scribbling away furiously in his sketchpad.

“Hey,” Carlos said. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh?” Ben looked up from his sketchpad with a frustrated look in his face. “Sorry, it's just that none of my reference drawings are turning out very well. There's nothing worse than everything going poorly…”

After a moment's hesitation, Carlos decided to sit down next to Ben, feeling the cooling spray of the fountain water on the back of his neck. “Hey, do you mind if I see them? They can't be that bad, surely.”

Ben scratched the back of his head nervously. “I mean, they're really not my best work, but if you really want to…” Silently, he handed his sketchpad over and looked away as Carlos opened it up.

Carlos looked down at the paper and… wow. They were good. Like, _really_ good.

“These are amazing,” Carlos said.

“You really think so?” Ben said, surprised.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “This is like… the best word I can think of is beautiful. I've never seen anything so good.”

“That's… thank you,” Ben said. “It makes me feel so much better knowing someone else likes my work.”

The two of them spent some time going through Ben's sketchpad, with Carlos gushing at every drawing with equal fervour.

It felt like the two of them grew a little closer.

“You know,” Ben said, attaching the sketchpad to his back, “I sometimes forget how nice it is to get feedback that isn't so… highbrow elitist.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Carlos asked.

“Ever since I began to grow in popularity as an artist, I've only ever received commentary that focuses too much on the technical form, or the relevance of the aesthetics, or the deeper meanings that I didn't even mean to put there,” Ben explained. “I might work with the abstract as my primary means of expression, but that doesn't make me some pretentious _artiste_ , you know?”

“Yeah, I think I get it,” Carlos said. “I always try to avoid sounding like that when writing up for my review blogs. I mean, for me, it feels like you're being more genuine if you aren't wrapping your words up in snobby jargon.”

“That's exactly it,” Ben said. “It feels like I've been cut off from the real world by these elite critics whose reviews aren't actually telling me anything. The best way I can describe it is as if my works are more of a status symbol than they are, you know… art.”

“Huh…” Carlos said.

“You know,” Ben said. “I never decided to become an artist for the fame or anything. In fact, if I had to give a reason at all… I'd have to say it's for the opportunity to connect with people.”

“Connect with people?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,” Ben said, nodding. “That's something I love about art: you can use it to spread messages that can resonate with everyone. This may sound a little ridiculous, but I truly believe art has the power to bring the world together.”

“That's… a really admirable look on life,” Carlos said. “To be honest, I've always seen art as more of an elite thing than anything… I guess I should re-evaluate my judgements, huh.”

“Don't worry about it,” Ben said. “It's perfectly understandable to think that way in the world we live in, so long as you promise to try and think a little differently from now on.”

“Of course,” Carlos said. “You're right – art isn't something that can only be appreciated by the select few. It's something everybody should be able to connect with.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. He sighed. “If only the rest of the world could see it like that…”

“Hey, you know,” Carlos said. “My blogs reach quite a vast audience who certainly wouldn't be classes as society's elite. If it's okay with you, I'd be honoured to do a feature on your work once we get out of here.”

“Really?” Ben's eyes lit up. “You'd really do that for me?”

“Of course,” Carlos said. “It's a promise – your art deserves to reach the people it's intended for, and if I can do anything to help, then I will.”

“Wow, I… I don't know what to say,” Ben said with a smile. “Thank you so much, Carlos.”

Carlos nodded. “So, until then, let's focus on trying to find a way out, okay?”

They spent a little more time debating the finer points of art criticism and sharing opinions on various artistic mediums. Carlos felt a little out of his depth when Ben started excitedly talking in detail about various artistic theories and techniques, but he definitely felt as if the two of them had grown to understand each other a little better.

-

Melissa decided to take a brief walk around the campus and take a closer look at the architecture of the buildings, hoping to find some inspiration for her next novel. Her travels took her through the front doors of the textile building and through to the ground floor foyer beneath the large skylight.

Wyatt was standing in the middle of the floor, holding up two different sheets of fabric under the light and looking at them with scrutiny.

“Hello,” she said, walking up to Wyatt.

“Hmm…” Wyatt said, deep in thought. He held up one sheet of fabric, then the other. “Sky-blue or pastel yellow – which would be the better primary accent colour in a summer ensemble? It's really difficult to say…”

“Would you like some help?” Melissa asked. “I might not be the ETL Fashion Designer like yourself, but I do have some experience in coming up with aesthetically pleasing outfits for my characters.”

“That would be great,” Wyatt said. “I've been deliberating over this for so long I'm finding it harder to make a decision – a fresh pair of eyes could be exactly what I need.”

Melissa and Wyatt spent some time comparing the ways the two different fabric colours looked under the light and discussing some potential outfit choices. They definitely grew a little closer.

“Hey, Melissa,” Wyatt said. “I have a question.”

Melissa raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What is it?”

“What do you think about uniforms?”

“Uniforms?” Melissa asked. “Like, the outfits?”

“Yes,” Wyatt said.

“I feel like they have their uses under certain circumstances,” Melissa said. “Like if you're working in a dangerous position and there's a regulated outfit designed to protect you, then yeah. But at the same time, I worry about the greater effects uniform has on social psychology – there's always a balance between practicality and individuality to consider.”

“Ah, interesting,” Wyatt said. “Personally, I'm against the idea of uniforms comprising complete outfits that don't serve a practical purpose.”

“Oh, like school uniforms and dress codes?” Melissa said.

“Exactly like that,” Wyatt said, adjusting his glasses. “I just can't agree with anything that stifles individuality for the sake of uniformity.”

“I understand that,” Melissa said. “It's especially troublesome with certain groups, such as sports, police, and military uniforms. It provides a blanket of anonymity that you can more easily hide behind, which makes acts of violence much more likely.”

“That said, it's also something that cannot coexist with fashion,” Wyatt said.

“What do you mean?”

“For me, the two core principles of fashion are individuality and creative vision,” Wyatt explained. “Uniforms are neither individual nor creative; they merely exist to reduce people into a single unit without any differentiation. Like, for example, if you see someone in a school uniform, do you initially see them as just a student, or as an individual person?”

“I suppose student…” Melissa said.

“Exactly,” Wyatt said. “Any attempts at individuality they make are swallowed by the generic image that the uniform provides. It's a needless way to limit an individual's creative expression.”

“I see,” Melissa said. “That makes sense.”

“Personally, I'd like to see pointless uniforms like that fall out of use,” Wyatt said. A dreamy expression crossed his face. “Imagine, for one moment, a world where everyone's free to express their individuality as much as possible without being told they're violating some kind of arbitrary rule… doesn't that sound wonderful?”

“I think so,” Melissa said. “If everyone is free to embrace their true creative potential, I think the world we live in would be a lot better. Creativity does encourage more open-minded thinking and contrary to what most people believe, people with a heightened sense of individuality have a greater capacity for empathy.”

“So, you would agree that most needless uniforms should be abolished?” Wyatt asked.

“Probably, yeah,” Melissa said. “I haven't given it much thought until now, to be honest, but you do raise a valid point.”

Wyatt gave a relieved smile. “That's good to hear,” he said. “I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this way.”

“I hope you don't mind me asking,” Melissa said. “But why is this something you're so invested in?”

“Well, er, you see,” Wyatt said sheepishly. “I hope I don't come across as ridiculous or anything, but before my career took off, I used to attend a school with a strict uniform policy.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said. “They used to come down real hard on anyone who tried to stand out in any way – it was awful for me, seeing so many people's innovative fashion ideas get crushed like that. So that's why when I decided to become a fashion designer, I vowed to always make sure my work would never stifle anyone's expression in any way.”

“That's actually quite inspiring, Wyatt,” Melissa said. “I've never really thought about the greater implications of fashion that much, and never in this way. I feel like I've learned a lot from this conversation.”

“You really think so?” Wyatt said with a bashful blush. “That's… thank you.”

They spent a little more time talking about some of Wyatt's ideas for a future fashion line and comparing them with Melissa's character designs. After this conversation, Melissa could say for certain the two of them understood each other a little better.

-

The clock struck noon as Naomi led the entourage of supply carts onto the soft sand of the beach. “We're here!” she announced with an excited giggle.

“Yeah… we are…” Mark said, huffing as he dragged his cart behind him. A sheen of sweat broke out on his head. “Hey, did we really need all this food?”

Naomi looked shocked. “Of course!” she said. “It's not a real beach day until you eat yourself sick!”

“I seriously have to wonder what kind of beach days you went to,” Chelsea said.

“Come on, don't be so harsh,” Nina said with a soft smile. “If we can't go overboard now, then when can we?”

“See? At least one of you agrees with me!” Naomi said. “Going OTT is part of the fun!”

“Well, over-the-top or not,” John said, “we still need to unload our supplies if we want to have a beach day at all.”

“Yeah, all right,” Joel said. “So, how are we arranging this?”

“We'll definitely need some room for the food,” Marian said. “Maybe set that up under those palm trees?”

“Sounds good,” Joel said.

“Hmm, as for the activities,” Nina said. “Maybe that spot of flat land before the waterfront? It looks like the perfect size to set up some volleyball.”

“We could put the swimming supplies by the lifeguard's chair over there,” Mark said, pointing to the far side of the beach.

“Huh, didn't notice that part of the beach yesterday,” Marian said.

“Well, Monobear was distracting us from really looking around,” John said. “It's not surprising we missed some things.”

“Yeah, look down there,” Naomi said. “There are some changing rooms and bathrooms over there – perfect!”

“So I guess going for a swim won't be a problem,” Chelsea said.

“So, what about the beach towels and sunscreen and stuff?” Mark asked.

“You could set a few up along the sand and put the rest with the lounge chairs outside the changing rooms,” Marian said. “I think that does it for the important things – anything else can be put wherever you see fit.”

“Let's get to it then, guys!” Naomi said. “I'm so excited!”

“And now we just wait for everyone to show up,” John said as the others started unloading the supply carts and grabbing things from the storage shed.

“Yeah,” Marian replied. “I hope everything goes as well as it is now.”

“I wouldn't worry too much,” John said. “This is our day off, right?”

“Right,” Marian said. “We're all together and keeping an eye on each other. We'll be fine.”

“That's the spirit,” John said with a smile. “Let's not worry.”

As everyone set everything up, the students who weren't part of the supply group gradually filed in.

“Hey,” Carlos said with a wave as he walked under a palm tree.

“Hello everyone,” Melissa said, smiling as she placed her bag on one of the lounge chairs.

Charlie was the next to arrive. “Sorry I took so long,” she said. “I just… wanted to find something first.” As she spoke, she adjusted a new addition to her outfit – a large sun hat.

“Hella cute hat, Charlie!” Naomi said as she skated by, setting some beach balls down.

“You really think so…?” Charlie said.

Carlos walked up to her and smiled warmly. “Yeah, it looks really great on you,” he said.

“You two are so sweet I think my blood sugar levels exploded,” Chelsea said wryly.

“H-huh?” Carlos said, turning red.

“Come on, leave them alone,” Nina said with a laugh.

From across the beach, Mark called out, “My cart's empty!”

“Same here,” Naomi said.

“We finished ours a while back,” Cheslea said, motioning to Nina. “So what's left to set up before we're ready to go?”

“Just the food and stuff,” Joel said, climbing down from the lifeguard's chair. “Heh, sorry. It's been so long since I've sat in one of those I just had to, you know?”

“You're forgiven, I suppose,” Nina said playfully.

“Yeah, I was just waiting on everyone to get here so we could decide what to cook first,” Joel explained. “Now that everyone's here, what—”

“Hold on,” Marian said. “We're still missing some people.”

“Wait, we are?!” Naomi exclaimed.

“Ben and Wyatt,” Marian said. “Has anyone seen them?”

“I spent some time with Ben,” Carlos said. “But that was a little while ago.”

“I spoke with Wyatt earlier, but I didn't see him on the way down here,” Melissa said, looking worried.

“You… you don't think…” Charlie said.

“Absolutely not,” Marian said. “Even if one of them was planning on it, Dirk and Ella are there to stop them. I'm sure they'll show up soon enough.”

Five minutes passed. Then ten. Fifteen.

“Uh, where are they?” Mark asked. “It's nearly twelve-thirty – they should be here.”

“Please, don't be…” Nina said.

“I mean, there are only a few possibilities here,” Chelsea said. “If we're assuming the worst.”

“Don't,” Melissa said. “I don't want to think about that right now.”

“Should we send someone to look for them?” Naomi asked. “They might just be distracted with something and forgot…”

“I think that might be a good idea,” Marian said gravely. “Does anyone want to volunteer?”

“I'll go,” Joel said with a heavy expression. “If… if they need help, I might be good in that situation.”

“In that case, take me with you,” Chelsea said. She folded her arms. “Strength in numbers, right?”

Joel turned to Marian. “Any idea where we should start looking?” he asked.

“Both of them seemed to hang around the textile building,” Melissa said. “So, maybe there?”

“Their dorm rooms might be a good place to look, too,” Carlos said uneasily. “And, uh, maybe Dirk and Ella saw something.”

“And, well, if we find something?” Joel asked, leaving the _something_ unsaid.

“Come back here immediately,” Marian said. “Both of you. Staying safe is the priority.”

“Okay then,” Joel said, turning towards the path that led back to campus. “We… should probably go…”

He took a tentative step forward. And, in the same instant…

“B-Ben?!” Naomi cried out.

“Uh, guys? Why are you all… looking like that?”

Walking down the hill to the beach, side-by-side, were Ben and Wyatt. Ben had switched his pants for a pair of shorts and had removed his plaid shirt, fully revealing the white T-shirt he normally wore underneath. Wyatt's regular glasses were replaced with sunglasses and he'd switched his long sleeved tee for a shorter one in an identical shade of pink, and he wore a pair of cropped ¾ length pants.

And also… he had Ben's plaid shirt tied around his waist.

“Oh God,” Wyatt said. “You're not going to make an issue out of—”

“We thought you were dead,” Marian said. “What took you so long?”

“Well,” Ben said. “We decided to come up with something new to wear to the beach.”

“And this took you over half an hour?” Chelsea asked.

“We also spent some time talking, too,” Wyatt said.

“Talking?” Joel asked. “What about?”

“You know… whatever,” Wyatt said with a shrug. “Just stuff.”

“Either way, you should have let someone know you were going to be late,” John said. “We were worried.”

“Sorry. Our bad,” Ben said. “Everything's still all right, though?”

“Now that we know you're safe, yes,” Marian said. “Although, I hate to even consider this, but—”

“Don't worry,” Wyatt said, looking out over his shades. “As far as we're aware, that telephone is still untouched.”

“Good,” Marian said.

“Anyway, enough about all that downer stuff,” Naomi said. “Everyone's finally here, which means we can get this party started! Whoo!”

With that, Naomi skated over the sand to a small speaker system that rested on one of the unoccupied lounge chairs. She plugged her phone into the speakers and turned on a playlist. A few seconds later, light, fun pop music rang out through the air.

And with that, the beach day officially started.

“I'm gonna start up the barbecue!” Joel called out as he walked up to the portable stove. “Who wants to call dibs on the first serving?”

“Ooh! Me! Me!” Naomi exclaimed. “I wanna hamburger!”

“If you don't mind, perhaps you could cook off some of the vegetarian options to start,” Marian said. “That way, it doesn't get in the way of the rest of the food.”

“Sure thing,” Joel said, lifting the stove up and grabbing a few veggie patties. “Naomi, you're all right with a veggie burger, right?”

“Of course!” Naomi said. “A burger is a burger!”

“Cool,” Joel said with a smile. He grabbed a lighter from the pile of supplies and went to light the stove, but paused. “Huh?”

“What's wrong?” Marian asked.

“There's nowhere for me to light the stove,” Joel said with a frown. “Look.”

“Huh,” Marian said. She leaned down and looked at the stove. “That is odd.”

“You don't think this is Monobear's way of screwing with us, do you?” Naomi asked.

“I wouldn't say so,” Marian said. “He would have made his entrance by now to taunt us if that were the case.”

“So then, why isn't it working?” Naomi asked.

“What's going on, guys?” Nina asked. “Everything okay?”

“Not really,” Joel said. “This dumb stove isn't working. I can't find a way to light it.”

“Are you sure it's not just an electric stove?” Nina asked.

“What?” Marian said.

“Yeah, you know,” Nina said. “Like the ones you see on these modern outdoor luxury camping shows. They're operated by either batteries or solar panels, and there should be a dial to activate the grill right around…” She bent down and reached underneath the stove. “…Here!”

There was a soft _click_ and a faint blue glow began to appear beneath the grill. “There you go,” Nina said with a smile. “Should take a couple of minutes to warm up, but then you're good to go.”

“Thanks, Nina,” Joel said, smiling. “You're a lifesaver.”

“…Says the lifeguard,” Nina replied playfully. “Anyway, I'm gonna start gathering up people to play some volleyball in a little while. You're more than welcome to join once you've finished eating.”

“Will do!” Naomi said. She turned to look at the grilling food. “Man… this smells so good! I can't wait to eat! Although, that does mean I'll have to wait at least an hour before swimming…”

“Actually, that's not really true,” Joel said. “So you're good to go. And even if it was true, I think you'll be pretty safe with me watching out.”

“In that case, food party!” Naomi exclaimed. “I'm just so excited!”

“Me too,” Marian said. “It's nice not to worry for once.”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “Anyway, I'm gonna go speak with a few other people. See you guys later!”

Nina walked across to the far side of the beach, where Carlos and Charlie were sitting on lounge chairs, their eyes closed. John stood by the beach supplies, a content expression on his face.

“Hey John,” Nina said. “How's it going?”

“Fine,” John said. “I was just thinking.”

“What about?”

“Well… a lot of things, really,” John said. “It's sometimes good to just look out at the waves and let your mind wander you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Nina said. “It can be quite peaceful.”

“So, what is it you want to ask me?” John said.

“Huh?”

“I mean, given your body language and the way you keep looking between me and everyone else here, it's quite clear that you want to ask me about something that concerns everyone,” John said. Then, more softly, “Sorry if that came off as rude.”

“No, you're good,” Nina said. “And you got me: I wanna start a game of volleyball soon. You interested?”

“I'm fine with that,” John said. “Could be fun. Who else is playing?”

“So far? I've got a yes from Naomi,” Nina said. “Joel and Marian are a little busy with overseeing everything and playing cook and lifeguard.”

“It would be like those two to stay in their work mindsets even when we're supposed to relax,” John said. “Let's just hope they manage to take it easy at some point.”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “It would be a shame if not everybody managed to relax.”

“Well, we can't force them to do so,” John said. He looked across the beach, to where Marian and Joel were talking by the stove. “But we can hope they come to that decision themselves.”

“Let's hope so,” Nina said. “And sorry to hit and run, but I still need to ask everyone else if they wanna play.”

John gave an easy smile. “That's fine,” he said. “Hm, I'd probably say it's worth asking Chelsea, Carlos, and Charlie. Chelsea seems to be anxious to something, and Charlie and Carlos seem to be waiting to be invited to take part in an activity.”

“Man, you're practically doing my job for me!” Nina said. “But thanks for letting me know.”

“Any time,” John said.

Nina made her way over to just outside the changing rooms, where Chelsea stood. She seemed to be examining a couple of swimsuits.

“Hey, Chelsea,” Nina said. “Do you have a second?”

“Oh? Yeah, sure,” Chelsea said. She put the swimsuit she was currently holding back with the rest. “What is it?”

“I'm gonna start a game of volleyball in a little while,” Nina said. “Do you think—”

“Yeah, I'm definitely in,” Chelsea said with a determined grin. “Besides, it beats spending all day trying to choose what kinda swimsuit to wear.”

“If you don't mind, I could help you out afterwards,” Nina said.

“Thanks,” Chelsea said. “That'd be great.”

“Don't mention it,” Nina said.

“So,” Chelsea said. “Who else you got lined up for this volleyball game?”

“John and Naomi,” Nina said. “And now you, I suppose.”

“Huh,” Chelsea said. “Pretty low turnout.”

“Well, I haven't exactly asked everyone yet,” Nina said. “John mentioned that Charlie and Carlos would be likely to want to join in, though.”

“Three on three?” Chelsea said. “Could work. Still kinda small, though.”

“Well, there are only twelve people here,” Nina said. “It's not like we have that much to work with…”

“I guess,” Chelsea said with a frown. “Shit, I kinda feel like an asshole now.”

“Don't,” Nina said. “You didn't do anything wrong.”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “But still, just bringing up, well… you know, like that. It's not cool. I'm sorry.”

“It's fine,” Nina said. “No harm done. And besides, it's impossible to just pretend everything that's happened didn't happen. Ignoring it would be just as bad as letting it get to you.”

“You're probably right,” Chelsea said.

At the same time, Mark and Melissa walked up to the two of them.

“Hi guys,” Mark said with a smile. He held his camera. “How's it going?”

“Fine,” Chelsea said. “Hey, uh, what's with the camera?”

“Oh, yeah,” Mark said. “I thought it'd be good to film this for the documentary. And you know, as a reminder that we're capable of rising above Monobear's despair.”

“Are you filming now?” Nina asked.

“No,” Mark said. “I got some great establishing shots, but… it would be better if there was a concrete event I could film.”

“Well, we're organising a volleyball game,” Nina said. “Would that be any good?”

“Actually, yeah!” Mark said. “Everyone together like that would be _perfect_ footage!”

“It also sounds like a lot of fun on its own,” Melissa said.

“Hey, are you two interested in joining us?” Nina asked. “I mean, if it doesn't get in the way of filming or anything.”

“Actually, it shouldn't be a problem,” Mark said. “I'd just have to set up the camera at a good vantage point and let it record on its own. So yeah, I'm down.”

“Me too,” Melissa said. “It should be fun to do something a little different for a change.”

“Awesome,” Nina said. “This is really shaping up to be like a real game!”

“So, you said Carlos and Charlie, too?” Chelsea said. “In that case, should—”

“Hey guys! Food's ready!” Naomi cried out from across the beach. “There's a lot of it!”

“I guess we'll have something to eat first, then,” Nina said.

Melissa nodded. “Let's go.”

Marian and Naomi had put a couple of outdoor benches together to create a pseudo banquet table while Joel filled it up with plates of food. It was mostly just stuff like burgers and hot dogs and some grilled fruit, but it was mouthwatering in its abundance.

“Man, this is so good,” Naomi said, taking an almost unnaturally large bite from her burger. “I'm practically on culinary cloud nine!”

“Mm, yeah, this is delicious,” Chelsea said. “Joel, I didn't know you were such a good cook.”

“You kinda pick it up when you're part of a large family,” Joel said with a shrug. “Because of how things always worked out, I was generally the one to prepare meals for my younger siblings.”

“Well, thank goodness for your siblings!” Naomi said. “How did I manage to _live_ before eating this?!”

“I'm glad you like it,” Joel said, smiling bashfully. “I tried my best.”

“So, let's talk business,” Nina said, slamming her hands on the table in a dramatic manner. “Volleyball.”

“I think I'll pass,” Wyatt said, lowering his shades over his eyes and taking a bite of his hot dog. “Sports aren't my kinda thing.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ben added. “I wanted to take advantage of the scenery and do some drawing. Sorry.”

“That's fine,” Nina said. “I wasn't expecting everyone to be involved.”

“I'll referee,” Joel said. “Mostly because it means I get an excuse to sit in the lifeguard chair.”

“That'd be awesome,” Nina said.

“I mean, uh, I'd like to take part, too,” Charlie said. “I've never really done anything like this, and it would be a nice way to spend some time with friends…”

“Hey, yeah, me too,” Carlos said. “Like, I haven't played in forever, but it'll be fun. I'm just glad nobody here's the ETL Volleyball Player.”

“That's great!” Nina said. “So that's, what, eight players? We can work with two teams of four.” She looked across the table. “Marian, are you interested?”

“Sorry,” Marian said. “My physical prowess just isn't that good, and I wouldn't want to upset the even number of players. I'd be more than happy to watch, though.”

“That's okay, too,” Nina said. She smiled. “Can't have a sports game without a crowd of adoring fans.”

“Go team,” Marian said wryly.

“So long as you support my team,” Nina said.

“Funny way of saying _my_ team, isn't it?” Chelsea said.

“I mean, we could both end up on the same team,” Nina said. “That said, if we aren't, then all support should go to my team.”

“Oh, it's on then,” Chelsea said. “You'll get to see the product of someone who took on the competitive dance world and _won_.”

“And _you'll_ get to see the brains behind some of the most competitive online games out there in action,” Nina said.

“Hey, don't leave out the rest of us in this forming blood feud,” John said, grinning. “It's all well and good being competitive, but the rest of us could turn the tide.”

“Well, let's hope I get the more influential players,” Nina said. She started to laugh. “Oh man, this is gonna be great.”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “You know? This actually feels… really good. Like I'm on vacation with my classmates and not… you know…”

“I know,” Melissa said. “It's peaceful. You really can just let yourself forget about it all for a few moments. This is what our time here should have been like.”

“We can still make it like that,” Marian said. “There's no rule that says we can't keep enjoying ourselves as we look for a way out.”

“We should keep organising things like this in-between searching for an escape,” Mark said. “That way, it would stop any of us from feeling down.”

“I suppose,” Charlie said quietly.

“It seems like it's gonna be that way,” Nina said. “The beach today, and the game dev session-stroke-hangout tomorrow… yeah, all of us getting together and having fun should be a regular thing!”

“All in favour,” Marian said in an exaggerated courtroom voice. She was met with a chorus of “I”s. “I suppose there's our answer.”

“You know,” Naomi said. “I really like you guys. I've never really been able to call all of my classmates friends before, but it really feels like we're all really good friends!”

“It's just… really nice,” Mark said. “In fact, hold on…”

He stood up out of his seat and made his way to the end of the table, lifting his camera up. “Class selfie!” he announced. “Everyone, smile!”

“Oh my God,” Chelsea said. “I can't believe you guys.” But she couldn't stop smiling.

“Cheese!” Naomi called out, making a peace sign.

There was a _click_ and Mark turned around to face everyone again. “I'll get it printed and developed by tomorrow,” he said. “It'll be a nice memento.”

“This is honestly so great,” Nina said. “I wish we could stay in this moment forever.”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. A playful smirk grew on her face. “But while you stay here, I'm gonna head off to the future and win the volleyball game.”

“You speak high and mighty now, Chelsea,” Nina said. “But wait until the game begins. Then you'll be eating your words.”

“Challenge accepted.”

The beach lunch mostly continued like this – playful banter and an overall camaraderie that felt impossible to shake. And, despite the sheer amount of food produced, everyone collectively managed to empty every last plate.

Then, once there had been an approximation at cleaning up, the eight volleyball players gathered together.

“Okay,” Nina said. “I've got a bunch of popsicle sticks here.” She showed everyone the bunch of eight in her hand. “The bottoms are coloured either red or blue – it's fairly easy to understand, but for clarity's sake, you're on team red if you get a red one, and team blue if you get a blue one. Everyone clear?”

“Yep,” Mark said.

“Mm,” Charlie said.

“I think we're good,” Melissa said.

“All right,” Nina said. “So then, who wants to go first?”

“I guess I will,” Carlos said. He leaned in and grabbed a popsicle stick. “…Blue.”

“First member of team blue confirmed!” Nina said.

“I'll go next,” Charlie said. She grabbed hers. “…Red?”

“Heh,” Carlos said. “Guess we're competing today.”

Charlie nodded with a smile. “Just because we're friends, don't think I won't try my best,” she said.

“All right,” Nina said. “Who's next?”

Everyone else came up and took a popsicle stick, being sorted into the according team. In the end, team blue consisted of Carlos, John, Naomi, and Chelsea, and team red consisted of Charlie, Mark, Melissa, and Nina.

“Heh,” Chelsea said. “So we really are gonna be opponents on the battlefield.”

“Sorry, what was that?” Nina said. “I couldn't hear you over the sound of my team winning.”

“Oh, it's definitely on,” Chelsea said.

“Hey, you guys ready?” Joel asked as he walked up to them.

“Yep,” Nina said. “The teams are sorted and we're good to go.”

“I'm ready to win!” Naomi said. “Go team blue!”

“We'll see about that,” Mark said. “Perhaps the odds will be in team red's favour?”

“Hey, save it for the game,” Joel said. He climbed up on the lifeguard's chair and blew on the whistle he carried around his neck. “Teams, to your corners!”

“Is it starting?” Marian asked, leaning against the chair. “Good luck, everyone!”

“We're in position!” Nina said, giving a thumbs up. Across from her, Chelsea held the ball.

“Okay then!” Joel said. “Game start in three! Two! One!”

He blew the whistle one more time. In one fluid motion, Chelsea launched the ball in the air, only for Charlie to send it right back with a surprising amount of force.

“Point for team red!” Joel announced.

“Whoo!” Nina said. “That was awesome, Charlie!”

“Well, um, thank you…” Charlie said.

“Either way, we're still gonna win!” Naomi said. “We let you have that first point!”

“Oh, really?” Nina said. “Let's see you keep saying that when we score again!”

In a frenzy, the ball flew back and forth, exchanging hands at a rapid rate, until finally…

“Point for team blue!”

“Yahoo!” Naomi exclaimed. “Go us!”

“Man, victory sure tastes sweet!” Chelsea said. “You guys are going down!”

Joel blew the whistle, and they were off once more.

“They're going hard,” Wyatt said as he walked up to Marian. He was sipping some kind of soft drink through a straw in a plastic wine glass, watching the game from behind his shades.

“Nice outfit,” Marian said. “Very avant garde.”

“Hardly,” Wyatt said with a shrug. “I just decided to go for a very particular aesthetic and here we are.”

“Where's Ben?” Marian asked.

“Up on the hill over there,” Wyatt said, jerking his thumb in that general direction. There, Ben was sitting beneath a palm tree, working away in his sketch pad. “He wants to get some good drawings of the game.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Point for team blue!”

“What's that sound? Could it be the promising cry of victory?!” Chelsea said. “Sweet throw, John!”

“It was nothing,” John said.

“Hey, it's not over yet!” Nina said. “Just you wait and see!”

“So, uh, how've you been?” Wyatt asked.

“Pretty good,” Marian said. “It's been pretty relaxing so far. What about you?”

“I spent some time just chilling and thinking about things,” Wyatt said. “Mostly contemplating living out all the tropical vacation fantasies I had as a kid.”

“That's… oddly specific,” Marian said. “Well, I guess you do you.”

Wyatt looked up at her from above his shades. “That's been the plan,” he said, taking a sip.

“Point for team red!”

“I did that!” Mark shouted. “I really did that!”

“And you thought team red was a _flop_!” Nina exclaimed.

Joel blew the whistle.

“Hey guys,” Ben said. As he walked up to them, he fastened his sketchpad behind his back. “How's it going?”

“Good, good,” Marian said. “Draw anything good?”

“Some action sketches,” Ben said. “They need cleaning up before I'm ready to show them off, though.”

“That's cool,” Wyatt said. “Your stuff's normally pretty cool so I'm looking forward to it.”

“Point for team red!”

“It's been a pretty good day, wouldn't you say?” Marian said. “It's nice out.”

“It's always nice out,” Wyatt said. “Like, permanently nice out.”

“Huh,” Ben said. “Maybe Mono—”

“Don't invoke that name,” Wyatt said. “You'll kill the good energies in the air.”

“Okay… what?” Ben said.

“I dunno,” Wyatt said. “Felt like something someone who's hyper-chill would say on vacation.”

“Huh.”

“Point for team blue!”

“I'm having trouble keeping track,” Wyatt said. “Who's winning?”

“Point for team blue!”

“Team blue,” Marian said. “I think the score's currently four-three, so it's a narrow lead.”

“Interesting,” Wyatt said lazily. “I could never be that competitive.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Marian said.

“Point for team red!”

“I kinda just like to go at my own pace,” Wyatt said. “I mean, you wouldn't think it because of my field of work, but yeah. Working with pressure and competition really isn't fun.”

“Point for team red!”

“Point for team despair!”

“Hey,” Ben said. “I think team red's… huh?”

“Oh good lord no,” Marian said.

Suddenly Monobear was there, sitting in the middle of a now crushed volleyball net, wearing nothing but a seashell bikini.

“Can we not have nice things for once in our lives,” Wyatt said. “Is this really necessary. Like, at all.”

“What the hell?!” Naomi cried out. “We were playing here!”

“And now you're not!” Monobear snapped. He jumped up to his pudgy feet. “I can't believe you bastards…”

Chelsea rolled her eyes. “Please, just stop talking,” she said.

Monobear ignored her. “I can't believe it! You were having your very own beach episode fanservice special and excluded your dearly beloved headmaster! I'm offended!”

“But… there's nothing fanservice-y about this…” John said, faltering.

“Beside that,” Nina said, her voice raising. “Nobody even likes you! Why would any of us want to invite you?!”

“Are you sure about that?” Monobear said, tilting his head. His seashell bra moved with his body. “I'm sure at least one person here has to love and adore me! It's the law of probability!”

“Statistically, shut the fuck up,” Chelsea said. “You're literally just here to ruin our good time because you hate us.”

“Me? Causing problems? Obstructing hope? In _my_ academy?” Monobear said. “It's more likely than you think!”

“Please, stop talking already!” Naomi exclaimed.

Marian stepped forward. “What do you want,” she said sternly. “If it's about the killing game or your motives, nobody's interested.”

“Upupu…” Monobear said. “That's what they always say…”

“Your scare tactics won't work,” Nina said. “We're done listening to you.”

“Blegh! Such hope!” Monobear exclaimed. “I'd puke if it wasn't for the promise of the sweet, sweet despair this will all turn into!”

“You know, you don't have to harass us just because you're bored,” John said with a half-smile. “At least, that's what my interpretations are telling me.”

“Oh my God really?” Chelsea said. “He's bothering us 'cause he's bored? And he thinks he has the right to call _us_ pathetic.”

“All right! Fine! Jeesh! Okay, I'm bored!” Monobear snapped. “After the exhilarating past few days, seeing you bastards do whatever the heck it is you're doing is capital D Dull!”

“Upset we didn't invite you along?” John said.

“After all I've done for you! All the despair I've given you!” Monobear lamented. “Do I really mean that little to you bastards?”

“Yes,” Wyatt said. “Next question.”

“Fine!” Monobear said. He shifted to a more neutral expression. “Do you bastards really think that this will be enough to stop the School Life of Mutual Killing? Really?”

“It is if we say it is,” Marian said. “Do you have any purpose for this visit other than to annoy us?”

“Not really,” Monobear chirped. “Just a quick reminder to you bastards that it's been twelve hours and still nobody's taken up my free phone call offer!”

“That's because nobody will,” Mark said. “You can wait all you like.”

“Feh!” Monobear growled. “I've given out motives and seen the entire murder to execution at the trial process in less time! You bastards are so slow on the uptake!”

“Complain all you like,” Marian said. “Nobody's playing your game any more, Monobear.”

“You really won't be convinced…?” Monobear said. “Upupu… you won't be able to blame anyone but yourselves when your hope finally runs out. See you bastards around…”

Then, he was gone, leaving the makeshift volleyball court in shambles.

“That was… weird,” Joel said, climbing down from the lifeguard's chair. “Why would he show up just to give us his generic despair talk?”

“He was trying to interrupt our beach day,” Marian said. “Seeing everyone get along like this is more than definitely a thorn in his side.”

“You don't think he'll… do something, do you?” Charlie asked.

John shook his head. “He can only hurt us if we break a rule or if we're executed as a culprit,” he said. “All he can do is shout at us.”

“That's a relief,” Charlie said, adjusting her sun hat.

“Well, I guess he managed to succeed in ruining our volleyball game, at least,” Nina said with a huff. “We didn't even get to find out who won!”

“Actually, I kept track of the scores until Monobear showed up,” Joel said. “It's not a full game, but we do have a clear winner.”

“Oh? Really?” Naomi said. “Who?!”

“Well, with a score of five to four,” Joel said. “Team red won.”

“Whoo! We did it!” Nina exclaimed. She turned to her team-mates and gave them a thumbs-up. “You guys were awesome!”

“Congratulations, I guess,” Chelsea said. “However, we totally would've won if we hadn't been interrupted.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Nina said with a wide grin.

“Hey! I have an idea!” Naomi said. “Let's go for a celebratory swim! At least that's something fun we can all do without competing!”

“I'm down,” Chelsea said.

“I guess so,” Nina said. “However, swimsuits don't really fit me right, so I don't know… I don't really have the right body type for it.”

“Come on, what's wrong? I'm sure you'll look great!” Naomi said.

“Well, uh…” Nina said, going a little red. “It's just that my body, well… isn't very feminine, if you know what I mean. I know it's like, fine, but I just get a little insecure about exposing myself around others.”

“Ah, that's cool,” Chelsea said. “Hey, it's your body. I'm not gonna make you feel uncomfortable. And if it helps… I definitely think you look like a girl.”

“Ah, thanks,” Nina said. “Again, I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable enough with myself to wear a swimsuit or anything.”

“Seriously, don't sweat it!” Naomi said. “You're our friend! We understand!”

“Thank you, guys…” Nina said. “I'll definitely watch, though.”

“Awesome,” Chelsea said. “Anyway, the swimsuits are all by the changing rooms if anyone wants to join us.”

“Let's go!” Naomi said. “Ocean time!”

After a few minutes of rustling through the pile and changing, Chelsea, Naomi, John, Charlie, and Carlos were in the water, swimming around and having fun.

“This is the best!” Naomi cried out as she tried to splash John.

“Hey!” John shot back playfully. “Be careful!”

Mark and Melissa stood by the shore as Mark filmed everyone in the water. From where they stood, Marian, Nina, and Joel couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

“I still think the idea of a documentary's pretty nice,” Nina said. “Even if it does contain footage that I'd rather forget about.”

“It also serves as solid proof that everything happened when we describe it to the authorities,” Marian said.

Next to them, Ben sat down in the sand and pulled out his sketchpad. “Sunset's starting,” he said, pointing to the golden light on the waves. “Beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Nina said. “Where's Wyatt?”

“Over there,” Ben said, motioning to a lounge chair where Wyatt lay, reading a book. “He came to chill out and I guess that's what he's doing.”

“It's already eight-thirty,” Marian said, glancing at her watch. “I can't believe the beach day's almost up.”

“Yeah,” Joel said from atop the lifeguard's chair. He suddenly sat upright. “Hey, would it be too much to ask you guys to keep an eye out on everyone? I haven't actually been swimming in the ocean for ages and I'd like to get in on the fun, you know?”

“Not at all,” Marian said. “You're more than allowed to join in on the fun – you don't need to spend all day playing supervisor.”

“Awesome,” Joel said. He took off his shirt, tank top, and flip-flops and put them in a neatly folded pile atop the seat, then climbed down, letting out a light laugh. “Guess there are some benefits to having your outfit double as a swimsuit.”

“I guess so,” Marian said. “Now go on, join the others. Have fun.”

“Awesome,” Joel said. He took off running down the beach, and leaped into the surf. “Here I come!”

“Eek!” Naomi shrieked as Joel's splash nearly sent her under the waves. “Oh, you've had it!” She threw a beach ball right at Joel's face. In response, Joel launched it right back, then began to rapidly swim in the opposite direction. “Get back here!”

“This is nice,” Nina said, watching the scene before her. “It really makes me feel good.”

“I agree,” Marian said. “Seeing everyone like this, it really makes me optimistic.”

Everyone kept playing in the ocean as the sun sank lower and lower beneath the horizon and the moon began to rise, and even then they kept going a while longer. Until eventually…

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards. It is now ten pm, meaning that it is officially Night Time. The cafeteria will soon be locked, and the hallway lights turned off. Pleasant dreams!”_

“ _Also, all restrictions on exiled students will soon be put in place again – for those of you bastards this applies to, please make your way out of any restricted areas. Upupu…”_

“How did he get that to play all the way over here?” Ben asked.

“There must be some kind of elaborate PA system,” Marian said. “We already know Monobear's got quite the complex system set up.”

One by one, everyone came out of the water and made a beeline for their clothes, quickly getting changed before regrouping.

“Man, I'm tired!” Naomi said with a loud yawn.

“It has been a long day,” Carlos said. “I'm about ready to head to bed, too.”

“I forgot just how exhausting a day at the beach can be,” John added. “I'm beat.”

“Does everyone feel this way?” Marian said. Nods. “In that case, we'll come back to clean up tomorrow. How does that sound?”

“I'm fine with it,” Chelsea said.

“Better to do it when we're all not so tired, right?” Mark said.

“Tomorrow it is, then,” Marian said. “Let's head back before it gets too late.”

Leaving the supplies at the beach, everyone made their way across the island back to campus. And as they approached the central building, they noticed two figures walking out.

“Hey guys,” Dirk said. “Have fun?” Ella stood next to him, silent.

“We did,” Marian said. “Were you guys okay?”

“Yeah,” Dirk replied. “Nobody even came near the phone at all, so we're good. And no, we didn't touch it either.”

“I didn't even expect you would,” Marian said. “I'd talk more, but we've all had a long day. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Dirk said. “Night.”

With that, he and Ella walked off into the darkness of the campus, and everyone else entered the central building and made their way to the dorm rooms. After such a long and tiring day, sleep came quickly to all.

-

_Monobear Theatre_

_You know, I always wonder why people think stories should show off all their good features at the start._

_But isn't it a little boring to lay all the cards out before people even decide they care? Isn't audience omniscience done to death?_

_Well, I'm here to rectify such a slight to storytellers everywhere!_

_Introducing the Monobear Theatre! Right at the moment when you're beginning to get invested in the story!_

_It really is an ingenious idea, I tell you! I really should be recognised more for my literary innovations!_

-

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! It is now seven am, marking the end of Night Time. The cafeteria has been unlocked, and the lights turned on. Here's to another day of mutual killing! Upupu~”_

Again, Marian was the first to reach the cafeteria, but unlike yesterday, she was quickly joined by the others as they all sat around the table.

“Good morning everyone,” she said. “Did you all sleep well?”

“Like a baby,” Joel said with a half-smile. “Like, man, I pretty much touched my bed and passed out until the morning announcement.”

“Me too,” Naomi said. “I woke up this morning and my body was all achy! But in a good way, I guess.”

“I feel a little exhausted from yesterday, too,” Nina said. “But not so much that it'll detract from my dev session.”

“Oh yeah,” Mark said. “I forgot about that! What time was it exactly?”

“Well, it'll be after we've finished cleaning up at the beach,” Nina said. “So maybe we'll start this afternoon? And we can all get together this evening once I'm done talking with everyone.”

“That sounds pretty good,” Marian said. “Have you come up with a schedule?”

Nina nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I've got Carlos down first, then Joel, Chelsea, and Charlie. After that, it's Melissa, Mark, John, then you. I'm not sure of the order here, but I have Naomi, Ben, and Wyatt down for a little later. I do have a few open slots in case anyone changes their mind about when they want to do it.”

“Sounds pretty organised,” Joel said. “IT room right?”

“Yep,” Nina said. “I shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes with each of you, so I should be done by around five. Then we could, I don't know, get a pizza and watch a movie?”

“That would be nice,” Wyatt said, back in his normal outfit. “Something a little more low-key would be a welcome change.”

“The beach was fun,” Carlos said. “But I think I'm ready for something a little less exhausting.”

“Awesome!” Nina said. “It's gonna be another great day!”

“But,” Marian said. “Cleaning first. We don't want to waste all those supplies in case we decide to do something again.”

“Well, yeah, of course!” Nina said. “And _then_ the awesome day begins.”

At that moment, the cafeteria doors opened and Dirk stepped inside.

“Huh? Dirk?” Mark said. “I was under the impression you'd stopped showing up to breakfast.”

“I have,” Dirk said. “Don't mistake this for me joining in with your feel-good activities.”

“So then why are you here?” Marian asked. “Is everything okay?”

“We have a problem,” Dirk said.

“What kind of problem?” John asked.

“It's… it's not so much what happened as much as what it means,” Dirk said. “Ella knows more about it. She's waiting outside.”

“I'll come down in a moment,” Marian said. “Anyone else?”

“I will,” John said. “Something doesn't feel right.”

“I guess I'll come, too,” Mark said.

“Me, too,” Melissa said. “Just so we have a good amount of people in case it's something major.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “The rest of you, please remain here until we come back. If you don't hear from us within thirty minutes, please try to find us.”

“Got it,” Nina said. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” Marian said. She and the others stood up from the table, and followed Dirk outside to the fountain where Ella stood. There was an uneasy expression on her face.

“What's wrong?” Marian asked.

“It's…” Ella said. “I know it'll sound ridiculous, but someone stole Cammy.”

“Cammy?” Mark said. “Like, Shauna's puppet, Cammy?”

“…Yeah,” Ella said. “I kept hold of him after the trial, like Shauna asked. I've been keeping him safe where I've been staying. But I woke up this morning, and he was gone.”

“Gone?” Melissa asked. “That's…”

“It means someone's found out where Ella's staying and broke in last night,” Dirk said. “I trust you don't need me to explain why that's a really bad thing.”

“No,” Marian said. “So, what should we do?”

“We can't ask anyone outright,” John said. “If it's because someone has ill intentions, we could push them to act faster.”

“I just want to know how they found her out,” Dirk said. “I've been with her every time she's gone there, and I've seen no sign of anyone.”

“That is troublesome,” John said. “And nobody's left our sight either, which means it's likely that the only way anyone would know is if… Oh no.”

“What? What is it?” Mark asked.

“If they had access to the surveillance footage, then they would know,” John said, eyes wide.

“Then that would mean the mastermind's targeting you for some reason,” Marian said. “Why?”

“I… I don't know,” Ella said nervously. “I've not done anything. I've stayed out of everyone's way since the trial. I don't get it.”

“And this feels like more than a leftover grudge,” Dirk said. “Whoever did it was crafty enough to do it undetected.”

“And confident enough they'll do it again,” John said. “Sounds like taking Cammy's a warning. I'd say it's a sign that someone here wants revenge, but… something doesn't feel right.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “It doesn't seem like anyone here would be capable of—”

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_

“What… was that?” Ella asked.

“It came from the PA system,” Dirk said. “But… that's not the sound Monobear normally uses for any of his announcements.”

“You're right,” Melissa said. “It's normally a _ding-dong_ for regular announcements and a _bing-bong_ for body announcements.”

“Wow, it sounds stupid when you say it like that,” Dirk said. “But you're right. Something's going on.”

“ _Could I have everyone's attention, please! All students are required in the meeting hall! It's an emergency! Emergency!”_

The voice that spoke out wasn't Monobear's. It was artificial and childish like his, but it lacked the underlying malice and threat in its tone.

“I don't like this,” Marian said.

“Should we ignore it?” Mark asked.

“I don't think so,” Dirk said. “Whoever's doing this isn't Monobear. We need to know what's going on.”

“You're right,” Marian said. “Let's go.”

“Um…” Ella said. “I'm still under restriction. Is it really a good idea for me to…?”

“The voice said emergency, so it's an emergency,” Dirk said. “You're justified. Now, come on.”

The six students made their way back inside and through to the meeting hall, pausing just outside.

“Where's everyone else?” Melissa asked. “Didn't they hear that?”

“We did tell them to stay where they are,” John said. “They might think it's wiser to stay where they are than risk finding out what's going on.”

“Let's just hope they're okay,” Marian said. She pushed open the doors and everyone walked inside.

The meeting hall looked the same as it did yesterday, phone and all.

“So… what's going on,” Dirk said, looking around. “Why here? Why the meeting hall?”

“I wish I had an answer,” John said. “Something's… Hey, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Marian asked.

“Yeah, I hear it too,” Ella said. “It's… that bleeping sound, right?”

“Bleeping?” Mark said.

“Yeah…” Ella said. “I think it's coming from the front of the room.”

They all walked to the front of the room, stopping just before the phone and the stage.

“It's loudest here,” Ella said. “This is weird.”

Mark's face went white. “Uh, guys…” he said.

“What?” Marian asked.

Mark raised a trembling hand and pointed in front of him. “…Look.”

“Oh my God,” Melissa said. “No.”

The source of the bleeping came from the pedestal. The phone's receiver had been taken off its stand and the countdown timer read **41:42:35** and was ticking down each second with a bleep.

“The timer,” Marian said in shock.

“Someone used the phone…” Mark said.

Marian turned to Dirk and Ella. “You don't—” she began.

“We left the building at the start of Night Time,” Dirk said. “Monobear said the phone was linked to a forty-eight hour countdown, right? So it's been going for about six hours now.”

“What time is it?” Melissa asked.

“…Eight-fifteen,” Marian said.

“So someone came down here and used the phone at two this morning,” Dirk said.

“Oh, oh no,” Mark said. “So that means that by two am in two days from now… someone will be dead.”

His words sent chills throughout the group.

“Someone… betrayed our trust?” Melissa said weakly. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “Oh God, someone's going to die…”

“We…” Marian said, words failing. “We need to find out who it was, before…”

“Before we have another murder,” Dirk said, folding his arms. “Monobear must be jumping for joy at our despair right now.

“Despair? Don't say such things! I won't allow despair to beat anyone!”

“Wait,” Dirk said. “Who said that.”

“It was the same voice as on the PA system,” John said. He looked around. “Who's there? Show yourself.”

“Way to survive a horror movie,” Dirk said.

“There are six of us,” Marian said. “Too many for someone to kill.”

“Kill? Why would I kill any of you? I _love_ all of you guys!”

“Where are you,” Dirk said, raising his voice. “Come out already.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely… Haha, heehee, hoohoo!”

There was a noise from the stage, like something clattering against the floor. Then, a figure began to climb up onto the top of the podium, gangly limbs reaching higher and higher, until the figure stood atop the podium, arms on hips in a dramatic fashion.

“No goddamn way…” Dirk said.

“When insurmountable despair arises, I arrive to vanquish it!” the figure said. “It is me, Cammy! The puppet born from a desire to spread hope and protect my friends! I am Sun's Joy's last line of defence against the forces of despair!”

“Ella,” Dirk said through grit teeth. “What the hell did Shauna _do_ in that workshop?”

Cammy the puppet jumped off the podium and stood before the six students, his bizarre mouth contorting into an approximation of a smile. “It is so very nice to meet you all!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so as you saw, i'm finally implementing free time events into this story, and like most dr stories out there, i'm giving you guys the chance to request who you'd like ftes with. the student that instigates them will be randomly selected from whoever's available at the time but you'll get a say in who they spend time with. just add who you'd like to spend free time with in your comments - there'll be three ftes up for grabs in the next chapter, so if there's anyone you want to learn more about, just drop a comment!
> 
> oh, and speculations about the things that happened in this chapter are welcome, too. so many things. i wonder if they'll ever stop happening.
> 
> probably not.


	15. Crumbled House of Cards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i only got one fte vote and that was for naomi so i just picked the other two based on who i thought would be interesting to read about. other than that enjoy the chapter! several things happen here and not all of them good.
> 
> also yes cammy is a literal expy of homestuck's lil cal (except probably not containing the soul of an immortal murder demon. maybe.) so this story has just increased by seventeen levels of Cursed i'm sorry this was inevitable from day one.

“C-Cammy?!” Ella exclaimed, taking a step back. Her face was white with shock.

“That's me!” Cammy said. He did a pirouette, his long puppet limbs swaying every which way. “Hee hee!”

“This is… This can't be real…” Mark said. “I can't… I can't accept this…”

“Hoo hoo! I would hate to alarm anyone, but I am definitely real!” Cammy said.

“Okay, two questions, puppet,” Dirk said flatly. “The first: who the hell is controlling you. And two: did you know about the motive.”

“I'd be honoured to answer you!” Cammy said. “To answer your first question, nobody is controlling me! My creator installed an artificial intelligence chip inside me that was triggered to go off when the right keyword was said!”

“What was the keyword?” Ella asked.

“Motive!” Cammy chimed. “My creator upgraded me as a fail-safe in case of the risk of what happened to my creator happening again! I'm here to protect you all from despair to the best of my ability!”

“AI?” Melissa mused.

“I mean, I guess,” Dirk said. “You don't get much more cutting-edge in toy-making than a toy with an AI chip installed.”

“And to answer your second question,” Cammy said. “I only learned about what the motive was a few minutes ago! That's why I asked everyone to come here, after all! When someone's in danger, of course it's an emergency! Ha ha!”

“This is _so_ weird…” Marian mumbled.

“Hee hee!” Cammy giggled. “I suppose it would seem like that to someone who didn't know! But I can reassure you that I only have everyone's best interests at heart!”

“Hold on,” Ella said pensively. “You said your activation was triggered by the word 'motive'… do you have any way of knowing when this was?”

“I'll check my internal timer!” Cammy said. “I have been operational for ten hours, twenty-five minutes!”

“So around ten last night,” John said.

“Must have been when we were talking about the motive before heading to bed,” Dirk said. He raised an eyebrow. “Damn, that's sophisticated.”

“What a lovely compliment!” Cammy said, putting his hands to his cheeks to mimic blushing. “I'm so honoured!”

“One second,” Melissa said. “You've been active since the start of Night Time last night, but you didn't know about the motive? Even though you were moving around when someone was using the phone?”

“Ooh, I'm so ashamed…” Cammy said, drooping his head. “I was programmed to check a series of predetermined dangerous places the instant I awoke, but unfortunately, my creator didn't think the meeting hall would be dangerous…”

“So, what, you've been wandering the campus for the best part of ten hours?” Dirk said. “Where were your so-called dangerous places, anyway?”

“Hoo hoo! I'll be more than happy to answer you!” Cammy said. “The workshop. The art studio. The dormitories. The pool. The textile building. The garden. These were the dangerous locations my creator programmed me to check! I hope my answer satisfies you!”

“…I suppose,” Dirk said. “I'm still very suspicious of this, for obvious reasons. When I checked, well… you, during the investigation for Andrew's murder, I found nothing more than a basic remote-control set-up. And now you're suddenly a self-sustaining AI with, I presume, learning capacities?”

“Ha ha! I guess so!” Cammy said. “Did you not find my chip when you were investigating?”

“No,” Dirk said flatly. “I opened you up and thoroughly inspected your wiring. It should have been there.”

“Hee hee! I think you're referring to the opening at the back of my neck?” Cammy said. “The ones that show the wires that feed through my arms and head, right?”

“Y-yeah,” Dirk said. “There a problem?”

“Hoo hoo! Of course that's why you couldn't find it!” Cammy said. He pointed to his chest. “Just like a real person, my heart is what keeps me alive! But since I don't need a heart, my AI chip is there!”

“The heart?” Dirk said incredulously. “That's… a really impractical location.”

“Ha ha! Well, that's because my creator didn't want to risk it getting damaged if I was investigated!” Cammy explained. “It would be no good if I was damaged and couldn't help everyone!”

“That remains to be seen,” Dirk said.

“Hold on a sec,” Mark said. “What you're saying… it's almost like Shauna expected she was going to be executed even before she went through with the murder. But, during the trial… she definitely tried as hard as possible to convince us she didn't do it.”

Ella looked down. “I don't like talking about this,” she said.

“Well, the trial was very short-lived,” John said. “And once we had the definitive evidence that proved she was the culprit, she didn't really put up a fight. Now that I think about it, it was likely that Shauna would have confessed herself if we hadn't reached that conclusion first.”

“…” Ella frowned. “…What happened happened. Let's not talk about what could have been.”

“Still, that's a lot of foresight,” Melissa said. “And Ella, Shauna didn't tell you about any of this?”

“Like I said in the trial, Shauna made the program and upgraded Cammy. I just gathered the supplies and downloaded the program during the dance,” Ella said. “I never really knew the specifics other than it was guaranteed to… yeah.”

“Don't be sad, Ella!” Cammy said. “All people make mistakes, but forgiveness is the important part!”

“I… I'm not sure I want to be comforted by a puppet turn murder weapon turn sentient being,” Ella said. “This… this is surreal.”

“So from what I'm gathering, you're here to act as the antithesis to Monobear,” Marian said. “We already know you're capable of wielding a knife and using it to kill someone, so I'm going to ask if you have the capacity to seriously oppose Monobear.”

“Oppose?” Cammy said. “But… isn't violence a hallmark of despair?”

“Not when it's for the sake of everyone's hopes,” John said.

“Hmm,” Dirk said. “The AI's still in its learning stage – is it really a good idea to shape him into an extreme hope fundamentalist?”

“Possibly,” John said. “But better the puppet be put in risk's way than one of us.”

“Hee hee! I understand!” Cammy said. “I'd be more than honoured to sacrifice myself to protect everyone! But, I would need to see the extent of what Monobear can do before I can truly say if I can oppose him in any capacity!”

“I mean, if you could gain access to the network, wouldn't that mean you'd have the opportunity to access the technology Monobear uses?” Melissa said thoughtfully. “You've already proven you can access the PA system, so is it likely you could gain access to the surveillance system or the control system for the executions?”

“They are all linked through a network,” Dirk said. “If we could get into that through Cammy, then we could stand a chance at bringing this game of Monobear's to a stop.”

“Yeah,” Mark said, a worried expression on his face. “But will that be feasible within the next forty-one hours? Because that's our deadline before someone else dies…”

“Can't you do anything about the countdown?” Ella asked.

“It wouldn't work at this point,” John said. “Whoever made the phone call, the idea's already in their head. They will believe wholeheartedly that they will be executed in two days' time unless they commit a murder, regardless of whether the countdown is actually effective or not.”

“Don't say that,” Cammy said. “I'm… I'm sure there's a way to beat this despair!”

“Short of isolating the individual who made the call _and_ disabling whatever punishment Monobear has waiting, then I'm not so certain,” Marian said. “The very best we can hope for is that the person who made the call comes forward and admits it.”

“But we mustn't lose hope until the very final moment!” Cammy said. “I shall protect everyone until the end! Hoo hoo!”

“I mean, if you wanna take your chances with a puppet,” Dirk said. “But there's a very real possibility we're gonna go through another school trial in a couple days. We can't ignore that fact.”

“So where do we go from here?” Melissa asked. “We have a lot of things to deal with: the motive, Cammy, and stopping Monobear. What do we do?”

Behind them, the doors to the meeting hall opened. “You guys in here?” said Chelsea's voice.

“Everyone?” Marian asked, turning around as the doors opened fully and the others, led by Naomi and Chelsea, walked in.

“You've been gone a while,” Naomi said. “We were beginning to get worried and—Aah! What is that?!”

“Ha ha! Hello everyone!” Cammy said. “I hope you all are well!”

“That… That looks like Shauna's puppet,” Ben said. “What's going on here?”

“First off, apparently Shauna modified Cammy to the point where she installed an AI chip designed to activate under dire circumstances,” Dirk said.

“Dire circumstances?” Nina asked.

“Ignoring that,” Carlos said. “Are you saying that the puppet's… _alive_?”

“It's about as alive as Monobear,” Marian explained. “We're still trying to figure out what exactly's going on here.”

“Hold on, ignoring all that, what dire circumstances?” Chelsea asked. “Because I sure didn't see it activate yesterday morning when things were pretty goddamn dire.”

“Ah, that's…” Melissa said, trailing off with an anxious look on her face. “That's because somebody used the phone last night.”

“Hold on, you what?” Wyatt said. “Someone took the call?”

“…Yeah,” Marian said uneasily. “Around two in the morning. Which means that, unfortunately… we have a little over forty hours until the countdown runs out.”

“The countdown…” Naomi said. Her face went white. “You're not… you're not saying that we have two days until someone's gonna die?!”

Marian grimaced. “That's exactly the case,” she said. “I'm so sorry, everyone.”

“But… who did it?” Joel asked. “I really don't wanna think about it, but someone really did it, right?”

“Someone… someone betrayed us,” Chelsea said. She turned to the front of the room, where Ella stood. “It was you, wasn't it?”

“What?” Ella breathed. “I—”

“It was at two in the morning,” Dirk said. “ _After_ Ella was prohibited from the central building again.”

“Bullshit,” Chelsea said angrily. “She… she coulda sneaked in, or… Just because she's banned doesn't mean that one of us did it!”

“Everyone, we need to stay calm,” Marian said sternly. “At this point, we don't know who did it. All we know is that it happened, and when it happened.”

“Uh,” Ben said. “I'd still like to know what's going on with the puppet.”

“What would you like to know about me?” Cammy asked.

“Well, er, mostly what your deal is and why Shauna even decided to make you, well, alive,” Ben said, fumbling over his words.

“Of course! Hee hee!” Cammy said. “I'm here to protect and defend you all from the horrible clutches of despair! My creator decided to make me into a protector to help prevent another murder from ever happening again!”

“And when you say defend us from despair,” Wyatt said. “What does that mean?”

“Hoo hoo! Just things like keeping everyone's morale high and stopping anyone from engaging with Monobear or any of his nasty, evil motives!” Cammy said. He drooped his head. “But I was too late to prevent _this_ motive… Oh, I'm so ashamed!”

“So, let me get this straight,” Nina said. “You're devoted to hope like Monobear is to despair?”

“W-well, maybe don't put it like that,” Cammy said nervously. “I'm nothing like Monobear! I just want to protect everyone and their hopes in any way I can!”

“In any way…” Carlos said. “Could that mean you could help us escape?”

“If that's what would help everyone, then I will try my hardest!” Cammy said. “My mission from now on will be to locate a means of escaping this island!”

“I… I have a question, too,” Charlie said softly. “Does… does Monobear know about you?”

“Ha ha! He's probably seen something on his cameras!” Cammy said. “But I don't think he knows exactly!”

“Would it be wise to keep it that way?” Marian asked.

“Hee hee! It might be a good idea!” Cammy said.

“Hey, who cares about that?!” Chelsea said, raising her voice. “Are we just gonna forget that someone here is a fucking traitor who decided that they're worth more than someone else's life?! Are we gonna let that slide just because there's suddenly a talking puppet? No offence, but that's not gonna stop a murder from happening.”

“Please, don't talk like that,” Nina said with a grimace. “I'm sure… there's a way to stop it from happening. There has to be… We just need to believe it.”

“So what, we can suddenly go up against Monobear?!” Chelsea said. “We suddenly have the power to say fuck you to the Mutual Killing?”

“That's—” Naomi tried to say.

“If not, then that means someone's gonna die within the next two days,” Chelsea said. She was trembling a little. “Someone's…”

“No,” Naomi said. “No no _no_! I don't want this! I don't want anyone to die!”

“Nobody's going to—” Nina started.

“We can't guarantee that, though, right?” Carlos said. His eyes were wide with terror. “We can't say for certain that nobody will…”

“He's right…” Charlie said. “We can't stop it, which means we have two days until someone's either k-killed or… or executed.” She teared up. “Oh, this is _horrible_ …!”

“Calm down,” Marian said. “Being afraid will get us nowhere. Before anything, we need to know who made that phone call, and then we can move from there. So please, whoever did it, I'm asking you to speak up for the sake of everyone else.”

“There's no way in hell that they'll fess up now!” Chelsea shouted. “Everyone knows, so they gotta act fast and murder someone before we clue in on who it is! Someone in this room is already thinking about who they're gonna kill!”

“No, that's…” Joel said, words failing him.

“Everyone, please,” Cammy pleaded. “Do not let this despair into your hearts. Together, we can all rise above it…”

“Oh God,” Carlos said. “Oh God.”

“No, I don't…” Charlie sobbed. “I don't want this to happen again…!”

“It's… it's not safe here,” Wyatt said. “The longer we stand around here, the more time they have to assess who's an easy target.” He swallowed nervously. “They might have even already decided who they're going to kill.”

“Fuck no!” Chelsea shouted shakily. “I'm not dying here! I'm not gonna let myself get killed like that!”

“We… we should all get out of here,” Ben said with panic in his voice. “I gotta… anything could happen in the next two days. I don't… I don't want to end up dead.”

“We could wait it out,” Wyatt said. “Stay in our rooms until the time limit runs out…”

“And just let someone die?!” Nina said. “We don't even know if they actually intend to commit murder!”

“Y-yeah!” Joel said. “And we don't even know if our rooms are safe – what if Monobear gave whoever used the phone a guaranteed method to kill someone?”

“This isn't…” Naomi said. She let out a high screech. “I can't take this anymore! We're all going to die!”

“No, please…” Charlie whimpered.

“Everyone,” Mark said.

“This is fucking bullshit!” Chelsea said. “After all we've been through and we _still_ can't trust anyone! Someone's gonna die and it's gonna be one of our _friends_ killing another one of our friends, and I—”

“ _EVERYONE, SHUT UP!!_ ”

Silence fell. Every eye in the room turned to Ella, who stood shakily, her fists clenched. “This isn't… this isn't right,” she said. “This fear, this distrust… you're just playing into their hands. Monobear, Junko Enoshima, this is how it works, isn't it?”

“Ella…” Cammy said.

“It is, though, isn't it?” Ella continued. “It's so easy to spread the seeds of despair and let them take root – we're doing the work for them just by letting fear take over. If things continue like this… we'll be stuck here, killing each other one by one until there's nobody left. And I… I've already tried that approach, tried to—to _kill_ someone to escape it, and all it did was create even more despair.”

Chelsea frowned. “…”

“I've been there – I _know_ how it works,” Ella said. “All it does is trap you in Monobear's world until it kills you. And… do you really want to throw it all away? Are you all really going to succumb to despair because Monobear's trying to frighten you into it?”

“She… she's right,” Marian said.

Ella nodded. “And I… even if you're too afraid right now, I promise you, I will not let anything happen. I will _not_ let Monobear win again. Everyone here… you're worth so much more than that. I will do everything I can to stop you all from falling down that path, to… stop you all from falling into despair.”

A beat of silence. Then…

“…Just shut up,” Chelsea said coldly.

“Huh?” Ella said, eyes widening.

“I don't care,” Chelsea continued. “You say all this, thinking _you_ of all people have the right to make us feel better, but what can you really do? You can't stop Monobear – hell, you were the first of us to get to that brink so you really have no right to talk about falling into despair – and you sure as hell can't prevent someone here from dying, so stop insulting us.”

“I—I didn't intend to—” Ella said.

“I don't give a _fuck_ what you intended,” Chelsea snarled. There were tears in her eyes. “One of my friends is going to _die_ and you think some platitude about staying strong is gonna fix that?”

“Chelsea—”

“Just piss off,” Chelsea said. “I don't want to see you. If you'd never decided to kill Andrew, then we'd all still be together and nobody else would be thinking about murder…!” She was crying now. “It's your fault, fucking damn it! You're the reason Monobear's still trying to push us all into killing each other! The only reason this killing game is still going on is because of _you_!”

“Chelsea, you're not being rational—” Marian said.

“Fuck that!” Chelsea snapped, her voice breaking. “Two of my friends are _dead_ and I'm gonna lose a third one, but she gets to keep walking around and living even though it's because of _her_ that it all started! It's not fair…!” She sank to the floor and began to weep. “I fucking hate this…”

“I'm—that's—” Ella tried to say.

“If you really wanna help, let whoever made the phone call take _you_ out instead of one of us,” Chelsea wept. “Go do that if you're looking for redemption.”

“I'm…” Ella began uneasily. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” Her voice was unsteady. “This isn't… I can't let this keep happening.”

“Ella,” Dirk began.

“Sorry,” Ella said. She looked at him sadly. “I need to… I have to go. There's something I have to do.”

“Hey, don't—”

But Ella was already walking up to the meeting hall doors. She didn't look back as she opened one and slipped out.

“…Great,” Dirk said. He looked at Chelsea. “I hope you accomplished whatever it was your were hoping that outburst would.”

Chelsea said nothing.

“Everyone… Please, do not lose hope…” Cammy said feebly.

Dirk turned on him. “I'm not done with you, either,” he said. “You're supposed be protecting us from despair or disorder or whatever, and you just let that happen, even though Ella was the first person your creator decided to protect.”

“Hoo hoo… That's…” Cammy said nervously. “I will try harder next time, I promise…”

“But next time someone might end up dead,” Dirk said. “If that happens, then you've completely failed your primary purpose.”

“I…” Cammy said. “From now I will begin to learn as much about everyone as I can so I can fulfil my role as efficiently as possible. I promise you all that I will no longer let you down.”

“I think we've exhausted this puppet of all the information we're getting,” Dirk said. He grabbed his PDA and typed something down before looking at Marian and John uncomfortable. “I… I need to go after her,” he said. “She might do something stupid and I can't let that happen.”

“I understand,” John said. “Stay safe.”

“Same to you,” Dirk said. He hurried out of the meeting hall with a determined look on his face, leaving the meeting hall in silence.

Eventually, Charlie spoke up. “This… this is horrible…” she said, her voice trembling. “Monobear's game, the motive… I don't want to be afraid like this…”

“Still, someone's life's on a two-day countdown,” Ben said. “We can't do much about it.”

“So… what do we do?” Charlie asked. “Is it… really okay to fear and distrust everyone? I mean, we… we still don't know what's actually going to happen, right?”

“Charlie's right,” Marian said. “We don't know what the person who used the phone will do, and so long as they remain quiet, we can't even guess what will happen. The best thing we can do in this situation is keep believing in each other until we can't any more. We still have two days before the worst happens – there's no point spending every moment until then like we are now.”

“So, we just ignore it?” Nina asked.

“Effectively,” Marian said. “As before, this is just buying into Monobear's game. If we're fortunate, the person will reveal themselves to us before the deadline, and… we can deal with it from there.”

“Still, if you know you're gonna die because of something you did, are you really gonna speak up about it?” Naomi asked. “I mean, if you used the phone, it means that at some point you told yourself it was all right to either kill someone or die, and that's not really a part of yourself you'd want other people to know about, right?”

“Fine, we'll make it clear now,” Marian said. “Nobody will hold and hard feelings toward you if you were the one who used the phone last night. So long as you come forward and promise not to kill someone, then we will try our best to help you. But we need to keep being able to trust each other. If we're all to get out of here, we need that trust.”

“Even so, someone here's still going to die,” Wyatt said. “How can we make sure that they don't try and take anyone else down with them?”

“Nina,” Marian said. “You're still all right with your game development session, aren't you?”

“Y-yeah,” Nina said. “The schedule's good with everyone and I have all the stuff ready to bring up to the IT room. Why?”

“Because I think we need it,” Marian said. “The more that we're all together in one location, the less likely it is that someone'll kill out of desperation.”

“But that isn't until this afternoon,” Joel said. “What about this morning?”

“…What about the beach?” Carlos said. “Weren't some of us meant to go down and gather all the stuff we left there yesterday? Couldn't we all go down there together? I mean, it's one way to keep all of us together in the same place.”

“That's not a bad idea,” John said. “The beach is a pretty open place, too, so it's not like there'd be any opportunities for anyone to try to do something they shouldn't.”

“So then, we're all going to head down to the beach together to clean up from yesterday,” Marian said. “Is everyone okay with that?”

Chelsea stood to her feet shakily. “I-I guess,” she said. “I won't pretend that there's anything even remotely okay about this situation, but yeah. We should… try and keep as many people safe as possible.”

“I'm glad to hear that,” Marian said. “So, how's this: we give ourselves fifteen or so minutes to breathe, then we all meet up in the cafeteria to head back down to the beach.”

“I'd advise against straying too far,” John said. “And if you absolutely have to go somewhere, don't go alone and make sure to let someone know who isn't coming along.”

“I'll come along with everyone, too!” Cammy said. “I need to learn as much as I can about how to protect you all from despair!”

“Sure,” Marian said. “Just… so long as you don't cause any problems.”

“Ha ha! Of course not!” Cammy said. “Now, everyone please try your best!”

“And stay safe,” John said.

-

With that, everyone walked out of the meeting hall and dispersed throughout the central building. There was a fragile optimism in the air that seemed to be growing with every passing moment, that maybe things really were going to be okay.

Charlie held onto this sentiment as she walked through the halls of the central building, wondering how to spend this small amount of free time.

She eventually wandered into Naomi, who stood by a row of lockers outside a classroom.

“Mmmmm,” she said, folding her arms. “There's a hella bunch of lockers in this school, but that's kinda weird, right? I mean, there were only ever supposed to be sixteen of us.”

Charlie deliberated for a moment whether or not to spend time with Naomi, but eventually settled on a firm yes.

“I suppose it is a little odd…” Charlie said. “The campus has always felt a little too big for just sixteen people.”

“You think so too?!” Naomi said cheerfully. “Whoo! I'm not the only one who thinks something's up!”

Charlie spent some time talking with Naomi about the mysteries of the school and pointing out things that didn't make sense. The two of them grew a little closer.

“You know,” Naomi said, “I'm kinda glad I got accepted into here, you know?”

“R-really?” Charlie said. “Even after… well, everything that's happened?”

“Well, obviously not _that_ ,” Naomi said, looking away thoughtfully. She smiled again. “But if everything was still like it was on day one, totally! Being the ETL Skater sure beats school!”

“You think so?” Charlie said. “I always found it really stressful… When you're recognised as the best, there's a pressure to keep that going, no matter what… Sometimes, I wish I had just been a normal high school student.”

“Eh? You really think that?” Naomi said with a surprised look on her face.

“I mean, I guess I'm just not as confident with my talent as you,” Charlie said.

“Huh? But you should be! You're the ETL Gardener, recognised and official!” Naomi said.

“Well,” Charlie said. “It's hard when every time you talk about your gardening online you get hundreds of comments telling you they can do better or pointing out every flaw with the soil, or the flower arrangement, or even the direction of the sunlight…” She sighed. “But whenever I got a A on a test, there was none of that stress. People just congratulated me and genuinely celebrated my achievement without there being any pressure to do even better next time.”

“Huh,” Naomi said. “I guess that makes sense… I just never really did that well in school, so being recognised for the first time as the ETL Skater was this memorable life-changing event. People just praised me for my skating instead of criticising me for making mistakes I didn't even know I was making.”

“So it sounds like we have opposite experiences,” Charlie said. “But isn't being the ETL Skater stressful too?”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Naomi said. “But at least I'm good at it and what I'm not good at I can improve, whereas school was just… Yeah. Bad.”

“I see,” Charlie said. “I just wonder… is there a particular reason why you didn't do so well?”

“Eh, mostly because I couldn't focus,” Naomi said. “You know, I get distracted too easily and I could never manage to pay attention for an hour at a time or even work my way through a homework assignment. But with skating, it just came easier, you know? I didn't have to focus on reading or anything for long periods of time, I just put some Rollerblades on and my instincts did the rest.”

“Your instincts…?” Charlie said. “So you're more of a person who learns through hands-on experience rather than studying.”

“Yeah… I guess you could put it like that,” Naomi said. “Not to, like, put down people who study or anything, but it just isn't for me.”

“I understand,” Charlie said.

“Anyway, let's talk about something cooler!” Naomi said. “Like, did you know that I can do this _awesome_ trick using a half-pipe and a rail? Man, it was _hella_.”

Charlie listened to Naomi ramble on about her past skating escapades for a while. She felt like there was something more to Naomi than she was letting on, but nevertheless, the two of them understood each other a little better.

-

After the fifteen minutes had passed, everyone was back in the cafeteria, save for Dirk and Ella, who nobody had seen since the outburst at the meeting hall.

“Hm, I hope they're all right,” Melissa said, drumming her fingers on the table. “I know they probably are, but it's hard not to be on edge now that we know about the countdown…”

“Who cares?” Chelsea said with a shrug. “If we have any luck, Ella's the one who took the call. It's not like anyone'll really miss her, right?”

“Chelsea, could you give it a rest, please?” Nina said, rubbing her temples. “I know you're upset, but turning Ella into a scapegoat is only going to make things worse. And you don't really want _her_ death weighing down on you as well, do you?”

“…You have a point,” Chelsea said, looking away. “It'll be more satisfying to see her put behind bars once we're out of here.”

“I don't think that's what she was getting at…” Mark said falteringly.

“Hm. Anyway,” Chelsea said. She looked to the head of the table. “Marian, John. When are we gonna be good to go?”

“In a few minutes,” Marian said. “We're just thinking through what exactly we brought yesterday and if we need to take anything else down with us to help us out.”

“Guess that makes sense,” Chelsea said. “Just, hurry it, will you? Being so close to that death timer… it's beginning to freak me out a little.”

“Don't worry, we hear you,” John said. “So then, where will we need to drop the supplies off?”

“Well, we got a bunch of stuff from the pool, so probably there,” Naomi said. “And didn't we use the storage shed at the beach, too?”

“We did,” Marian said. “So it's just a matter of sorting what goes where.”

“A lot of the cooking supplies came from the kitchen,” Joel added. “So we'll need to come back here, too.”

“And I think the rest of the stuff came from the storage closet in this building, by the dorms,” Mark said. “As far as I'm aware, that's everywhere we gathered the supplies from.”

“So, the beach storage shed, the pool, the kitchen, and the dormitory storage closet,” Marian said. “That's four places we'll need to be.”

“Perhaps we could split off into four groups?” Carlos offered. “That way we could cover more ground faster when it comes to transporting it.”

“That's not a bad idea,” Marian said.

“Yeah,” Joel said. “So, should we volunteer for which place we wanna go to?”

“Hm,” John said. He shook his head. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Why not?” Wyatt asked.

“Because the person who used the phone could take advantage of this opportunity to get away from the rest of us,” John said. “And a lot of the places we got the supplies from contain potentially dangerous items.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Joel said. “So how do we deal with organising who goes where?”

“We'll draw straws,” Marian said. “That way, we end up being sorted by chance rather than by choice.”

“Does anyone have anything we can use for that?” Ben asked.

Nina nodded. “I have a random group generator on my phone,” she said, pulling it out. “I could sort everyone in a few seconds.”

“And… that's okay?” Joel asked.

Nina frowned. “It's not like I can abuse a random generator to rig things in my favour,” she said. “And for the record, I didn't use the phone.”

“I think it should be fine,” Marian said. “Nina, go ahead.” She then faced the rest of the group. “And by the way – no complaining about where you're going or who you're going with. We're doing this in the interest of keeping everyone as safe as we can.”

“All right,” Nina said, typing something into her phone. “…And it's ready! We're all okay for me to randomly generate the groups?”

A series of nods and “yeah”s. “Okay then!” Nina said. She tapped her screen. “And the beach storage shed group is… Naomi, Mark, and Charlie.”

“Awesome,” Naomi said.

“Hey, at least it means we don't have to walk as far,” Mark said with a shrug. “Plus, more time on the beach is always a bonus, right?”

“I'm okay with that,” Charlie said. “The beach is nice…”

“Cool,” Nina said. “Next up, the pool group… Melissa, Chelsea, and Carlos.”

“That's fine,” Melissa said. “I have no problems.”

“I've already been to the pool so I know where a lot of the stuff goes,” Chelsea said, “which should make this a lot easier.”

“I have been curious about the pool, so it's a good excuse to check it out at the same time,” Carlos said.

“Next up, the kitchen group…” Nina said. “We have Joel, Ben, and Marian.”

“Sweet,” Joel said with an easy smile. “I pretty much got all the stuff from the kitchen out so it shouldn't take too long to put it all back.”

“Hey, there's food,” Ben said. “I'm in.”

“I'm more than happy to help anywhere,” Marian said. “However, I will admit I'm relieved I get to watch over one of the more dangerous locations.”

“All right,” Nina said. “And the last group – the dorm group… John, me, and Wyatt.”

“I can't object,” John said.

“Ha! Would you look at that,” Nina said. “I got the closest place to the IT room. Sweet!”

“And you said you couldn't manipulate random chance…” Wyatt said wryly.

“Well, we have our groups sorted out,” Marian said. “We'll split off into each team once the cart for that respective location has everything in it.”

“And don't feel like you are only able to work on your cart,” John said. “If we all help each other out, it should go a lot faster.”

At the same moment, Cammy popped up from somewhere. “I'm here! Ha ha, hee hee, hoo hoo!”

“…Where did you go?” Marian asked.

“I went to go find Dirk and Ella,” Cammy explained. “I needed to make sure that they were safe and okay!”

“And, are they?” Mark asked.

“They are perfectly fine! Do not worry!” Cammy said.

“I mean, literally nobody was, but okay,” Chelsea said.

“Anyway, how is everyone doing?” Cammy asked. “I hope you are all still doing well!”

“We were just about to leave for the beach to go clean up from yesterday,” Marian sad. “You're still welcome to join us if you wish, although I don't know if any of us could actually stop you.”

“Ha ha! I will try my best to help everyone as much as I can!” Cammy said. “Together, we will beat despair!”

“And I think that covers everything for this meeting,” Marian said. “Let's go to the beach.”

-

Everyone made it to the beach without any problems. There, they found the remnants of yesterday strewn across the sand like the aftermath of an explosion.

“We really did a number on this place, huh,” Mark said.

“I mean, a lot of it was down to Monobear screwing around during the volleyball game,” Nina said with a frown. “Of course, we can't do anything without that bear trying to ruin it.”

“Hey, at least he's been pretty quiet since then,” Joel said. “That's gotta be good, right?”

“Yeah, nobody's seen him since last night,” Naomi said. Her expression shifted. “…Since someone used the phone and started the countdown.”

“Yeah, there's no way he'd normally ignore something like that,” Wyatt said. “What do you think he's doing?”

“If you don't mind me being cynical,” John said. “There's a good chance he's preparing the punishment for the person who made the call.”

“That's pretty horrible to think about,” Carlos said.

“I don't know if that would mean he has no faith in that person actually following through on the motive,” Chelsea said. “Or, if it means he has faith we'll solve the potential murder.”

“It would be better for everyone if it was the first,” Ben said uneasily.

“Hey, this is getting pretty morbid pretty quick,” Naomi said. “Let's maybe stop talking about death, yeah? Like, I know it's hard not to, considering, but getting everyone down isn't really going to help us out…”

“I have to agree,” Marian said. “Let's try and keep it positive, all right? Monobear's aim is for us to wear each other down – let's make sure it doesn't happen.”

“Such hope…” Cammy said, in awe. “This… this is what I want to achieve.”

“Man, I guess you weren't lying when you said you were a learning AI,” Nina said. She raised an eyebrow with an uneasy smile. “Well, I guess it's hard to program hope into an artificial intelligence from the get-go, but I'm still impressed that you have that kind of learning capacity.”

“I'm humbled!” Cammy said. “But, really, it was my creator that did all the work! I am merely finishing what she cannot!”

“So, you're really optimistic you'll eventually be able to stop the killing game, huh,” Joel said.

“It may take time, but I am certain of it!” Cammy said. “Stopping this horrible game is the best way to protect all of you!”

“As you've said,” Chelsea said sardonically. “Hey, does an AI's vocabulary grow as it learns? Cause I'm already getting sick of your limited stock of catchphrases.”

“I mean, it should,” Nina said. “In fact, picking up new words is one of the most fundamental skills an AI must possess. If it can't adequately communicate with the world around it, then it can't really develop any further, can it?”

“Hee hee! You're so knowledgeable, Nina!” Cammy said. “It fills my heart with joy to know I'm protecting such talented students!”

“So long as that doesn't mean you'd ignore anyone without talent,” Carlos said. “Not that that's a problem here, but it's probably a bad idea to think that only those with talent are worthy.”

“Hoo hoo! I will take that into account!” Cammy said. “Thank you, Carlos! Everyone here is so smart!”

“…Anyway,” Marian said absently, folding her arms. “Let's get to work on clearing up the beach. The usual rules apply: stay within eyesight of everyone else and don't go anywhere without letting everyone know.”

“Got it,” Naomi said.

Mark nodded. “Noted.”

“Now then, let's start cleaning,” Marian said. “Good luck, everyone. Stay safe.”

-

Everyone dispersed across the beach and started gathering up the supplies to bring to their respective carts. At first, people mostly stuck to their groups, but as everyone realised the scale of the task, they quickly began helping each other out in an attempt to speed things up.

Mark walked up from the shoreline, carrying a bunch of dishes and cutlery in his arms as he made his way to the kitchen's cart. As he loaded them on, he noticed Marian standing by herself with a heavy expression on her face.

“Hey,” Mark said with a wave. “Everything okay?”

“Oh? Well, I suppose yes,” Marian said. She frowned. “But I just can't stop thinking about the motive… I wish whoever made the call would just come forward. Maybe we could help them…”

“Huh,” Mark said. “But worrying like this isn't going to improve things – it'll only make you feel worse.”

“I suppose,” Marian said uneasily.

“I know,” Mark said. “Want to help me gather some stuff for my cart? Naomi keeps getting distracted and Charlie can only do so much. Not to sound like I'm roping you into doing a chore – we could talk as well, you know. Help you get some stuff off your chest.”

“Hm, I think it would be a welcome distraction,” Marian said with a small smile. “Let's go.”

The two of them spent some time walking along the beach and cleaning up, talking about anything other than the motive or anything to do with the School Life of Mutual Killing. They both grew a little closer.

“Mark,” Marian said. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Uh, sure,” Mark said. “Go ahead.”

“This may sound a little ridiculous, but I need to know,” Marian said. “Would you say I'm a distant leader?”

“I'm sorry, what?” Mark asked.

“I know how it sounds,” Marian said. “I'm just… concerned that I might be isolating myself from others and appearing more and more unapproachable since this all started. Do you think that's true?”

“Well, I wouldn't say so,” Mark said. “You're much more driven now to get us all out of here, but I wouldn't go so far as to say you're becoming unapproachable.”

“I see,” Marian said.

“It's actually quite good that you've become the leader of the group,” Mark said. “You might not see it, but people are a lot more relaxed with someone in charge.”

“Hm,” Marian said. “And, as a person, how would you describe me?”

“Huh? Really going in for the loaded questions today, I see,” Mark said. “But, if you're curious… I think you're a likeable person with a strong sense of conviction towards what is right. You're professional, but you don't let it stop you from getting close with anyone, and you're always trying your hardest to spend some time with everyone – despite the responsibility you've decided to shoulder, you're always pleasant and never resent us for it. To be honest, I can't think of a better person to have as a friend.

“You… really think that?” Marian asked, going a little red.

“Well, yeah,” Mark said. “Why wouldn't I?”

“You see, I just worry,” Marian said. “Even if I do give that impression, I'm concerned that I'm a boring person.”

“Boring?” Mark asked. “How can you be boring? You always have something to say!”

“Yeah, but never about myself,” Marian said. “I love it when everyone talks about their talents or hobbies, but I always feel like I'm less interesting in comparison.”

“How can you say that?” Mark said. “You're an actual real-life lawyer for crying out loud! You don't get much cooler than that!”

“Still,” Marian said. “Recounting legal cases is nowhere near as exciting as hearing about an award-winning idea or a death-defying experience… my one claim to fame is Sunshine Sally and, well, under the present circumstances that's not really something you want to talk about.”

“You really think that what you do is boring?” Mark said. “How can legal cases be boring? Besides, how could I not be interested in the talent of one of my friends?”

“You really think so…?” Marian asked. “That's… I don't know what to say.”

“How about you start with telling me about some of your favourite cases,” Mark said. He lifted his camera with a mischievous smile. “Otherwise, I might just be tempted to force you into a scripted interview.”

“If that's the ultimatum, then…” Marian said. “Of course I'd be willing to oblige for a good friend.”

Mark spent some more time listening to Marian talking about her courtroom experiences, hanging onto every last word as she spoke and animatedly responding to every point she made. The two of them definitely understood each other a little better now.

-

Carlos leaned against a palm tree after having decided to take a quick breather from filling his cart up. As he stood there watching the waves, he noticed John standing nearby with an unreadable expression on his face.

“I wonder…” John said, putting his finger over his mouth in his thought. “Could it be possible for me to figure out who made the call by analysing the phone, or…?”

“You okay, John?” Carlos asked, approaching him.

John smoothed his face over into an easy smile. “Yes, I'm fine, don't worry,” he said. “Well, as fine as you can get with what we have hanging over our heads…”

“I don't think we should be so defeatist,” Carlos said. “You taking a break, too?”

“I suppose you could call it that,” John said. “I mostly just needed a quiet moment to switch my brain off. It might sound ridiculous, but it does get quite exhausting having your mind constantly reading and analysing everyone around you.”

“Huh,” Carlos said. “So, would you mind if I don't think next to you?”

John let off a silent laugh. “I guess, if you want to,” he said. “But I probably won't be up for conversation for some time.”

The two of them spent some time just standing together, silently watching the waves roll in and out, enjoying the moment of peace. It felt like they'd grown a little closer.

After a while, John let out a breath. “It's nice, you know,” he said.

“What is?” Carlos asked.

“To be able to spend time with someone without immediately analysing their thoughts, or having them ask you to read them,” John explained. “I'm looking at you now, and all I can sense is relaxation.”

“Well, yeah,” Carlos said. “I'm pretty relaxed right now – it's hard, but I'm trying my best not to let everything get me down…”

John nodded. “It's nice because I'm feeling relaxed too, and I can look at someone without having my own feelings get weighed down by a hundred others.”

“Huh,” Carlos said. “Is that normally a problem?”

“…It can be,” John said. “I'm almost used to it now, but it's still not a pleasant feeling when you enter a crowded room and get bombarded by too many sensations to count at once.”

“That… actually sounds pretty awful,” Carlos said. “Isn't there a way to, you know, switch it off?”

“Afraid not,” John said with a wry smile. “The price to pay for talent.”

“Oh,” Carlos said.

“Don't be too bothered,” John said. “I can deal with it just fine, so long as I'm allowed the occasional quiet moment to just stop thinking for a while.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Carlos said. “Is there anything I can do to help you feel less overwhelmed?”

“Are you capable of shutting your emotions off?” John said dryly. “Because otherwise this is just kind of a thing I need to deal with.”

“No, I don't think you can just turn your emotions off,” Carlos said with a frown. “That sucks…”

“I don't mean to turn myself into a sympathy ploy,” John said. “I just… like it when people don't obsess so much over my talent, you know?”

“Obsess?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah,” John said. “After my initial taste of fame working as a criminal profiler, I was relegated to a sideshow attraction for a while. People lining up and paying me to read their emotions to find out the truth about themselves and the people close to them – kind of like a cross between a psychic and counsellor, only even less productive.”

“Wow, I…” Carlos said. “Sounds rough.”

“It wasn't too bad,” John said. “But, it was pretty exhausting, reading countless strangers each day.”

“I can imagine,” Carlos said.”My blogging's never been stressful like that, and when it does get too much, I have the privilege of just being able to shut it off and walk away for a few hours. It kinda feels like recognising a privilege I didn't know I had.”

“Don't feel like that,” John said. “Just because I experience hardship in a way that you don't doesn't suddenly invalidate your problems – we're all our own people, and shouldn't feel any less simply because we perceive someone else to have it worse off than us.”

“I…” Carlos said. “You took the words right out of my mouth, I… you got my feelings across before I'd even managed to put it into words myself.”

John gave a sly smile. “Well, I am an empath,” he said, laughing.

The two of them spent a little more time talking back and forth about general conversation topics, not thinking too deeply about anything in particular, but just enjoying each other's company. They certainly understood each other a little better.

-

After a little longer, the four supply carts were full to the brim and everyone had gathered in the middle of the beach.

“So, we managed to clean up the beach without any problems,” Marian said. She smiled. “Good job, everyone.”

“Ha ha! It's so good to see everybody working together!” Cammy chimed in. “It fills my heart with such hope…”

“Uh, the heart you described as an AI chip?” Mark asked uneasily.

“Hee hee!” Cammy giggled. “Technicalities.”

“Well, okay then,” Mark said. “I'm, uh, glad us getting along is making you happy…?”

“Hoo hoo!”

“Okay,” Marian said, clearing her throat. “Before there are any further tangents, I'd just like to clarify that everyone's still okay – nobody has any issues?”

“Other than what's already established?” Joel said. “I don't think so.”

“Yeah, I'm good,” Naomi said. “No more problems from my end!”

“I'm all right, too,” Melissa said.

“Yeah,” Charlie added. “I think… I think it's fair to say that everything is as fine as it can be.”

“That's good to hear,” Marian said, breathing a sigh of relief. “And everyone's still okay with their groups and bringing the supply carts back?”

“Yeah,” Wyatt said. “Just one question: are we actually unloading them or just storing the carts as they are?”

“Huh,” Chelsea said. “Didn't think about that.”

“I think it would depend on the cart,” John said. “For example, it would probably be a good idea to put all the kitchen supplies back since we're likely to use them again in a different context, but the miscellaneous items should probably be all right to remain in their carts.”

“Maybe the pool supplies should be unloaded, too,” Carlos said. “It seems like a place we might use, and it'd be easier to get any stuff out if it's not at the bottom of a cart.”

“I mean, probably,” Ben said.

“Hey, I didn't think about that,” Nina said. “A pool day's a pretty viable option for something we could all do!”

“Slow down a little,” Wyatt said. “We only just had a day at the beach yesterday, we're all having a pizza stroke game night this evening, and if we're using the pool tomorrow, someone might collapse from exhaustion. Probably me.”

“…Fine, but I'm not letting go of this idea,” Nina said. “What about the day after tomorrow then? That gives us all a rest day so we won't be too tired for a day at the pool.”

“I like that idea, Nina,” Melissa said. “But, two days from now is when the countdown…”

“Oh, yeah…” Nina said. “Maybe not, then.”

“Shit, it's really that soon, huh,” Chelsea said.

“We could… we could still do it, though, right?” Naomi said.

“I'm not sure,” Ben said. “I mean, someone's marked to die in the early hours of that morning… I don't think anyone would be up to anything after that.”

“But… but we still can't definitely say someone's gonna die!” Naomi said with a panicked expression. “We won't… we won't know what's gonna happen until the timer hits zero!”

“It also could be unsafe,” John said. “I wouldn't put it past Monobear to hold off on the countdown until we're all at the pool and kill that person then, in a way that would make us think it was a murder.”

“That went to a dark place,” Chelsea said.

“I'm trying to assume the worst to prepare for it,” John said. “By default, if anything else happens it'll only be an improvement from my expectations.”

“Makes sense,” Ben said.

“But… the worst might not happen,” Naomi said. There were tears in her eyes. “We could, we could try and stop anything from happening…! What if we all just… huddled together at the moment the timer reaches zero so Monobear can't get to whoever used the phone without risking hurting everyone…!”

“Naomi,” Marian said softly. “The person made the call at two in the morning. It's very unlikely everyone will stay awake until then, and no guarantee the person who made the call would even show up.”

“No, I don't,” Naomi said. She was starting to cry. “Someone's gonna… This is so unfair…!”

“Naomi…” Cammy said. “Please, do not despair…”

“I think the puppet's right,” Nina said. “This sucks, _horribly_ , but getting upset won't solve anything. We need to both face the facts and _stay positive_. This is gonna sound really, really awful, but, even if one of us is going to die, the rest of us will keep living past that deadline. And if our spirits get crushed, then things will never improve, and I… I don't want that to happen.”

“At the very least, I wish whoever did it would just speak up,” Melissa said sadly. “It would be… easier to process if we didn't have this uncertainty and dread hanging over us, if we knew who it was and could more easily prepare.”

“I think, if they were going to, they would have by now,” Wyatt said. “I think it's going to remain a mystery until the countdown actually runs out and…”

“I only have this to say,” Marian said. “Whoever it is, look around you and see what you are doing to your friends. Do you really want to drag them all down with you? Is spreading despair really what you want your final actions to be?”

Nobody had anything to say to that. Marian shook her head sadly. “Be that way, then,” she said. “Everyone else, please take care with returning your carts, and return to the cafeteria once you're done. And stay safe.”

-

The next hour or so passed by uneventfully as everyone split off into their respective teams and returned their carts. Conversations were minimal, the reminder of the motive and countdown timer preoccupying everyone's thoughts. But, each team completed their task with no further issues or incidents of note, and as the afternoon progressed, they began to feel a little easier.

The first group to finish was the dorm group, but the kitchen group was first to reach the cafeteria by default. They also finished soon after.

“How'd it go?” Nina asked as the two groups converged around the central table.

“More tiring than I'd expected,” Marian said. “No problems on your end?”

“Unless you count nearly dropping a shelf full of heavy objects on your head, then yeah,” Wyatt said with a groan.

“What happened, dude?” Joel asked with concern.

“Yeah, I'm pretty interested in what happened, too,” Ben said with a barely-concealed smile.

“…I tripped,” Wyatt said. “And then stumbled into the wall, catching the shelf. It was an honest-to-God near death experience.”

Nina let out a giggle. “The stuff on the shelf fell in the other direction – nothing even touched you!” she said.

Wyatt folded his arms and pouted. “Sure, make fun of my trauma, why don't you.”

“Oh my God,” Ben said, laughing loudly. “You… I can't believe you, you know? You're honestly completely ridiculous.”

“Hey! I could have _died_!” Wyatt said. “We should all be glad I'm still alive!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said, still smiling. “How could we possibly go on without our dearly treasured friend?”

“But in all serious it's good to see that you are okay,” Marian said. “I'd rather you tell this ridiculous anecdote than actually be in trouble.”

“…Yeah,” Wyatt said. “Anyway, what time is it?”

“A little before two,” Nina said. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” Wyatt said.

“Okay,” Joel said. “That's a little weird.”

Wyatt shrugged. “Just wanted to know the time,” he said.

“Well, if it helps, you still have a couple hours before your appointment with yours truly,” Nina said with a sly grin. “You're one of the last ones before we all gather together.”

“That's cool,” Wyatt said.

“Somewhere you'd rather be?” John asked.

“Not at all,” Wyatt said coolly. “Jeesh, I get that tensions are running high, but can't I even ask the time without everyone worrying?”

“You're right,” Marian said. “We're sorry – we shouldn't let this motive make us suspicious of every minor thing.”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “It's just hard when someone out there's thinking who knows what after making a call to whoever – sorry, though.”

“It's cool,” Wyatt said. “I get it.”

“Besides, we shouldn't have to keep you much longer,” Marian said. “Once everyone's here and we can confirm everyone's okay, you should be free to go, in a sense.”

“Look, I said don't worry,” Wyatt said. He drummed his fingers against the table. “Anyway, when should everyone else be getting here?”

“Well, they're coming from the pool and beach,” John said. “That can take time.”

“I guess so,” Wyatt said. “I hope they're on their way over – dealing with the supplies didn't take as long as I thought.”

“I just hope we got everything,” Joel said. “We really should've taken inventory, huh.”

“I don't see why it matters,” Marian said. “It's not like there'll be any consequences if we're missing a spoon or something.”

“And if you're worried about someone taking something for more sinister purposes, I wouldn't worry,” Ben said. “The three of us were the only ones to really deal with any dangerous objects, and I'd say we're pretty trustworthy, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Joel said. He grimaced. “Man, I hate being so stressed.”

“Don't be,” Nina said. “The dev session starts soon – that's something to help you unwind with, right?”

“Yeah, you have a point,” Joel said. “But I can't help but worry, you know?”

“No, I get it,” Nina said. “It would be ridiculous for someone _not_ to be worried to some extent in this situation.”

“Hey everyone! We're back!”

The doors to the cafeteria opened as Naomi rolled in, followed by the rest of her group plus the pool group.

“Ah, hey guys,” Nina said.

“Did everything go well?” Marian asked.

“As well as navigating that pool's storage system can be,” Chelsea said. “The place is a goddamn labyrinth, I tell ya.”

“Hey, it wasn't that bad,” Melissa said. “Although, I do admit that finding where all those inflatables went was quite the chore.”

“Man, I'm sorry,” Joel said. “I shoulda told you guys about how the pool works in more detail – my bad.”

“Hey, I can take some responsibility, too,” Nina said. “I was there exploring on the first day as well, remember.”

“Huh, right,” Joel said. “Feels a little like forever go, really.”

“Well, a lot's happened since,” Melissa said. “With everything Monobear's done, even two days ago feels like a lot longer.”

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “Hard to believe it's only been four days since the dance, you know?”

“Is that all?” Mark asked. “Hm.”

“Hold on a moment,” Ben said. “If that's so, then… today is the seventh day we've been here.”

“Huh? We've… really been here a whole week?” Charlie said, going pale.

“Feels like much, much longer,” Chelsea said.

“Still, that's worrying, don't you think?” Melissa said. “We've been cut off from the outside world an entire week now. Surely people outside must have taken notice.”

“Yeah, like our families, for sure,” Naomi said. “They musta called the authorities or something by now, right?”

“At the very least, they should have tried to contact the school,” Carlos said uneasily. “And then once they couldn't get through to anyone, they should have tried someone else.”

“It is strange,” John said. “Particularly in the times we live in – an entire school just goes silent? You don't just ignore something like that.”

“Unless…” Charlie said. “Something happened to the outside world, too…”

“No, don't—don't say that,” Joel said, going pale.

“Yeah, no,” Chelsea said. “That's just not possible. What could happen in a week?”

“I… I don't know,” Charlie said. “But I was thinking… Monobear's part of the Despair group, right…? So… So what if… They're doing something bad outside while we're stuck here…!”

“Ha ha! Everyone, do not despair!” Cammy popped up again. “I truly believe that the world beyond this school is just fine!”

“And, what proof do you have?” John asked.

“Yeah, empty words of encouragement ain't gonna cut it,” Chelsea said. “So, is there proof that we're worrying for nothing?”

“Hee hee… That is…” Cammy said. “You must not lose hope! So long as you believe everything will be fine, it will be!”

“So you don't,” Wyatt said falteringly. “For a hope robot you're pretty useless, you know?”

“I guess Monobear's inverse would be as pointless,” Ben said.

“Hoo hoo…” Cammy said sadly. “I am still learning and still trying, so please do not write me off just yet!”

“How are your efforts to sabotage the killing game going?” Marian asked.

“Um, well…” Cammy said nervously.

“That's a little disappointing, to be honest,” Marian said. “We can't do this on our own, and you're not a student, so you're in a unique position to disregard the rules. If you can't boost our morale, please at least try to undermine Monobear's game.”

“Ha ha! I shall try to do so!” Cammy said. “Again, I can only apologise for my shortcomings!”

“Just… keep trying harder, okay?” John said. “We'll all appreciate it when you're really able to be useful to us.”

“Hee hee! Thank you for the words of encouragement, John!” Cammy said “I shall continue to try harder!”

“Okay, so this meeting's going nowhere fast,” Wyatt said. “Mind if I head off?”

“I suppose there's no point dragging this out,” Marian said. “So yes: now that we all know everyone's okay, feel free to do what you like, provided you stay safe in the process.”

“Awesome,” Wyatt said. In no time at all he was out of his seat and gone.

“…I'm gonna go after him,” Ben said abruptly. “It's not a good idea to go around on your own.” He left before anyone even had a chance to comment.

“In that case, I'm gonna head upstairs to the IT room,” Nina said. “I need to start setting up before we can start this thing – Carlos, remember that you're up first, so come around in, say, fifteen minutes?”

“Sure,” Carlos said. “I guess I'll just wait here until then.”

“Neat,” Nina said with a smile. “See you then.”

“Hey, wait,” Joel said. “Mind if I help you out? It's easier if two people are carrying things, and, well, it'll be safer.”

“Really?” Nina said. “I appreciate the help, Joel. Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “Plus, you know, it beats having nothing to do…”

“You don't need to convince me any more,” Nina said. “In fact, you know what? How about you act as my bodyguard for the day? That way, we deal with both the danger and boredom!”

“You'd…?” Joel said, shocked. Then he nodded, a determined smile on his face. “In that case, I'll be glad to take on the job.”

“It probably does mean your slot'll be shifted back until the end,” Nina said. “But you're okay with that, right?”

“I'm fine,” Joel said. “Whatever it takes to make things safer.”

“Awesome,” Nina said. “Let's go then.” She turned to the others. “Stay safe, everyone, and I'll see you in a little while.”

The two of them walked out of the cafeteria together, talking as they went.

“…I'm gonna go, too,” Naomi said. “I wanna go chill at the skate park for a while if that's okay.”

“That's fine,” Marian said. “You really don't need to ask.”

“Hella,” Naomi said. She stood up from her seat and skated out the cafeteria doors.

“Hope you don't mind, but I'm also outta here,” Chelsea said. “I'm gonna go hit up the dance hall – since we've been here for, like, a week, I need to make sure my skills don't get rusty.”

“Okay then,” Marian said. “Just stay safe.”

“You know, you've said that way too much over the last couple days,” Chelsea said. “Stop stressing – things'll be fine.” She stood up and left without another word, leaving Marian, John, Charlie, Melissa, Mark, and Carlos in the cafeteria with Cammy.

“So, anyone else leaving?” Marian asked.

“I don't think so,” Carlos said. “My dev session with Nina's in a few minutes, and I don't really have anything else planned out.”

“Me either,” Charlie said. “I think I'll just stay here for a while, if that's okay.”

“I'm not sure it would be wise for us all to disperse too much,” Mark said. “Plus, I'm kinda hungry so being next to the kitchen is a bonus.”

“There's a nice view from here,” Melissa said. “I think I'll spend some time writing while I'm inspired.”

“All right,” Marian said.

“I'm a little interested in Cammy,” John said. “Want to spend some time interrogating him?”

“Hoo hoo… maybe don't put it like that,” Cammy said. “I'm more than willing to share all the information I have!”

“Okay, then I hope you don't mind me asking this one question,” John said. “How come Monobear hasn't shown his face once since you've showed up?”

“Huh, yeah,” Mark said. “I haven't seen him all day.”

“Me neither,” Charlie said.

“I wonder what's up with that,” Marian said. She turned to Cammy. “Do you have an answer?”

“Ha ha, nope!” Cammy said. “I have no clue why Monobear hasn't showed up!”

“…I see,” John said sceptically. “Then could it be that he's observing this all taking place for some reason?”

“Could be,” Marian said. “If Cammy's everything he says he is, then he could pose a real threat to Monobear and this game.”

“Hey, didn't you say something earlier about Monobear being absent, too, John?” Carlos said. “Something about him preparing a punishment?”

“…There's that possibility, too,” John said. “But I'd like to remain hopeful.”

“Hee hee! That's the spirit!”

“Er, why do you laugh so much?” Mark asked. “It's weird and kinda unnerving…”

“Hoo hoo! It allows me time to process information and form an answer without disrupting the conversation!” Cammy explained.

“Interesting,” Marian said. “It makes a lot of sense.”

“Ha ha! I come with three variable laugh types, too!” Cammy said. “So they will never grow stale!”

“Maybe not…” Carlos said. “But, it's a smart thing to think of.”

“Thank you!” Cammy said. “Compliments really fill me with hope!”

“And, I'm guessing statements like that _don't_ require processing,” John said.

“Hee hee! Nope!” Cammy said. “I just know when things fill me with hope!”

“It's weird,” Mark said. “Thinking of hope as something quantifiable – that there are upper and lower absolutes you can experience.”

“I suppose only so much can be translated to an AI,” Marian said. “But, I think the intentions are clear, at least.”

“I mean, so long as he can take a stand against Monobear,” Charlie said. “That's what really counts, right?”

“Right,” John said with a nod.

“I'd say we should get into that now, but I'm not so sure it would be a good idea if we're being watched right now,” Melissa said.

“Next to Monobear himself, the constant surveillance might be our biggest enemy,” Mark said.

“…Yeah,” Marian said. “Let's maybe not conspire about sensitive information out in the open – I hope you'll be able to help us soon, Cammy.”

“Hoo hoo! I will try!” Cammy said. “Learning takes time, though!”

“I get it, but we aren't under such relaxed circumstances,” Melissa said.

“It might take even more time because my primary function will always be the protection of everyone, but I will not give up!” Cammy said. “I will persevere for the sake of hope!”

“Do…” Charlie said. “Do you really think we have a chance?”

“We must believe so,” John said. “It might be difficult, but it's not an impossibility.”

The cafeteria doors swung open a little. Joel popped his head around. “Uh, Carlos?” he said.

“Yeah?” Carlos said.

“Nina's ready for you,” Joel said with a smile. “I'm to escort you up to make sure you're safe.”

“How professional,” Carlos said playfully. “Okay bodyguard, I'm ready to be escorted.”

“Just come on, dude,” Joel said, smirking. “We take too long and I'll have to upgrade the threat level and call in backup.”

“VIP protection, huh,” Carlos said. He snickered. “I feel honoured.” He turned to the others at the table. “I guess I'll see you guys soon?”

“We'll still be here when you're done,” Marian said. She turned to Joel. “Keep him safe, or we might have to contest your bodyguard status.”

“Seriously, don't sweat it,” Joel said. “I'll bring him back, too.”

“That's good,” Charlie said.

“And with that, we leave,” Joel said, opening the door for Carlos to walk through. The pair of them left the cafeteria quickly after.

“Quite the efficient system Nina has set up,” Mark said. “She doesn't have to move to get people, and she doesn't need to worry about putting everyone in danger.”

“Huh, you're right,” Marian said. “If it weren't for the logistics, I'd say we should think about implementing a full-scale bodyguard system.”

“Even though… it won't matter in a couple of days,” Melissa said grimly. “Will it?”

“…I suppose not,” Marian said. She let out a sigh. “Still, I wish there was _something_ we could do about this whole situation.”

“Unless we can somehow stop the motive, the best we can hope for is a confession,” John said uneasily.

“I just… I hate thinking about it,” Charlie said. “I don't… I don't want anyone else to die…”

“Still, the very least we can do is keep going through it,” Marian said. “If we can endure _this_ , we can endure anything Monobear could possibly throw at us.”

“Hey, I just had a thought,” Mark said. “John, couldn't you do your analysis thing to figure out who used the phone?”

“Er…” John said. “It is technically possible, but I'd need to gather everyone together and have the phone be on their mind – I'm not a thought reader, unfortunately.”

“Yet you could catch a serial killer without any problem,” Mark said.

“That's different,” John said. “Personal feelings get in the way when I try to do that to people I care about – I mean, you remember how flustered I got during the trial, don't you?”

“I try not to think about the trial, but yeah,” Marian said. “I can see where you're coming from.”

“Plus, at this point, it'd create more problems than it would solve,” John said. “I hate to say it, but I think sitting tight is the best possible option for now.”

“Ha ha! Believing in everyone is certainly the best course of action!” Cammy said.

Melissa flinched in her seat. “I forgot you were there for a moment,” she said.

“Hee hee… I can only apologise,” Cammy said. “I tend to go quiet without direct verbal input… I'm working on overcoming it…”

Before Cammy could talk any further, the cafeteria doors opened again. This time, Chelsea stepped through.

“Hey Chelsea,” Mark said.

Chelsea said nothing and headed straight for the kitchen.

“Is… is everything all right?” Charlie wondered.

“Let's hope so,” Marian said. There was the sound of rustling from the kitchen before Chelsea came out with a glass bottle of Coke from one of the vending machines. She sat at the far end of the table, looking over at the cafeteria doors.

“You all right?” Mark asked.

“Huh? Yeah,” Chelsea said, taking a sip. “Just waiting here for Nina to come get me.”

“Well, it's been a good fifteen minutes now, so Carlos should be back any time,” Marian said.

“…Cool,” Chelsea said, drinking another mouthful. An awkward silence soon fell over the cafeteria for the next couple of minutes until Carlos and Joel reappeared at the cafeteria doors.

“We're back,” Joel said. “Still in one piece.”

“Oh, I am relieved,” Marian said playfully.

“Hey, uh, Chelsea?” Joel said. “Wanna come with?”

“Yeah, sure,” Chelsea said. She stood up and followed him out, drink in hand. “See you guys around.” And then they were gone.

“She seemed a little worried about something,” John said. “I hope nothing's bothering her.”

“It's Chelsea,” Mark said. “I'm sure she'll be fine.”

“Probably, yeah,” John said.

Carlos sat back at the table. “Hey guys,” he said.

“How was it?” Charlie asked.

“Pretty cool,” Carlos said. “Nina's set up these 3D character models on the computer there – wow, do they look like us! She's really knowledgeable and it was so cool to hear her talk about how she could program blogging as a gameplay mode. You guys aren't gonna be disappointed when it's your turn.”

“I sure hope so,” Charlie said. “Nina's nice, anyway, so, yeah… I'm looking forward to it.”

Everyone spent some time around the table talking about nothing too serious in particular, and mostly just enjoying each other's company as they waited for Chelsea to come back and for Charlie to have her turn.

Ten minutes became fifteen, which became twenty, and there was still no sign of Chelsea.

“Must be taking their time,” Marian said.

“I imagine incorporating a ballerina into a game is more taxing than a blogger,” Carlos said. “So they could be spending more time talking than I needed.”

“Yeah, probably,” Melissa said.

Another ten minutes rolled by. Still nothing.

“…I'm getting a little worried now,” Mark said. “It's been thirty minutes and we haven't heard anything.”

“They're probably fine,” John said. “Let's not worry for nothing.”

“Yes! We must keep hope!” Cammy said abruptly.

“I think I'll go up there and find out what's happening,” Charlie said. “It's my slot next, anyway, so it wouldn't be an inconvenience.”

“You sure you'll be okay on your own?” Carlos asked.

Charlie smiled. “It's just upstairs,” she said. “I'll be fine. I'll come straight back down, and if not, I'll tell Joel to let you know.”

“That would be a great help,” Marian said. “Thank you, Charlie.”

Charlie stood up from her seat and smoothed out her cardigan. At the same moment…

***THUD***

“What was that…?” Charlie asked.

“Whatever it was, it was loud,” Mark said.

“I think it came from above us?” John said.

“That's… right where the IT room is,” Carlos said. “Man, I really hope there's nothing wrong.”

“Well, at least I now have a reason to check things out, right?” Charlie said. As she spoke, she sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”

Marian shook her head. “Smell what?”

“It's faint, but…” Charlie said. “I think it's smoke…?”

Melissa gave a worried expression. “…I have an awful feeling,” she said.

“Let's hope nothing happened,” Marian said. “I'm sure it's nothing.”

“I'm going to go check it out now,” Charlie said. “I'll let you know as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “We won't go anywhere, just in case. Be careful.”

“I will,” Charlie said.

-

As soon as she exited the cafeteria, Charlie immediately noticed how much stronger the smell of smoke had become. For a brief moment, she considered a variety of horrible possibilities, but shook them off – everything was going to be fine. She was worrying for nothing.

However, as she reached the top of the staircase, and began walking down the hallway towards the IT room, a blood-chilling scream rose up.

“Oh—oh God! _NO!_ ”

There was another loud _thud_ and then… the smell of smoke became too strong to ignore.

Without even realising it, Charlie had started running through the halls, her heart pounding in her chest. She hurried by a few empty classrooms, then the bathrooms, and finally rounded the corner to where the IT room was.

There, she was greeted by the sight of Chelsea and Joel standing before a large bookcase with sheer terror on their faces. And, from behind the bookcase…

Thick, choking black clouds of smoke rolled out, filling the air with a suffocating stench. It took all of Charlie's willpower not to shriek then and there. “G-guys?!” she said. “Chelsea, Joel—what's going on?!”

“Charlie! Thank God someone showed up!” Chelsea said, her words leaving her mouth at a hundred miles an hour. “There's—someone moved this bookcase over the door and there's smoke coming from inside the IT room!”

“What?!” Charlie said, feeling pure terror rise up in her chest.

“We—we were heading back to the cafeteria a-after finishing up with Chelsea,” Joel said, his face pale. “But then we saw all this smoke and—”

“Where's Nina?” Charlie asked desperately.

“We—we think she could still be in there,” Chelsea said. “Oh God, if it really is on fire…!”

Charlie didn't even let the thought manifest in her head. “We need to push the bookcase out of the way of the door,” she said with stern determination, hurrying over to one side. “Help me!”

Joel and Chelsea joined her, and with the combined strength of the three of them, they managed to push the bookcase back to its original position beside the door. But the bookcase soon grew irrelevant as they looked through the slightly ajar IT room door.

“There's… those are flames!” Chelsea said, more of a desperate shout than anything. “Nina! _Nina!!_ ”

“Sh-shouldn't there be sprinklers going off?!” Charlie said, feeling sick with fear as she looked at the orange flames lapping up and down in between billowing clouds of smoke. The smell was up her nose and in the back of her throat and oh god the _panic_ …! “Why aren't they going off?!”

“I—think I saw the control panel against the wall,” Joel said. He was sweating with fear as he took a step towards the door. “I'll… I'll try to get it on myself.”

“Be careful for God's sake!” Chelsea cried out as Joel nervously slipped in through the door. Charlie caught a glimpse of a huge wall of flame and—she couldn't look any more.

“Oh, oh God…!” she whimpered.

After what felt like an absolute eternity, Joel's voice rang out. “I've found it!” he said, his voice muffled by the roar of the fire. “Turning it on now!”

A few seconds later, there was a _click_ from somewhere, and suddenly water began to rush down from the ceiling through the sprinkler system. As the smoke began to billow intensely, Joel rushed out of the IT room. “We need to get back or we might start choking,” he said.

He didn't need to repeat himself. Charlie and Chelsea were already rushing further down the hallway as the sound of rushing water drowned out the roar of the fire and sent massive clouds of smoke rolling out of the now wide-open door.

It probably took around a minute or so before the sprinklers shut off and the smoke cleared. A horrible, deafening silence took hold instead.

“We… should probably check the IT room,” Chelsea said, a haunted look on her face. “Survey the damage. See if we can find out what happened. Make sure…” She couldn't finish her sentence.

“Let's just go,” Joel said shakily. Charlie found herself nodding, even though her vision was blurring from the panic coursing through her body. Still, she forced herself to follow Joel and Chelsea through the door, and into the IT room.

The first thing she noticed was that the walls were stained with huge black streaks, and that the stench of smoke hung around more potently in here than anywhere else. Charlie then found her attention drawn to the smouldering, melted remains of the computers that made up the IT room. They were still smoking.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, her eyes were drawn to the centre of the room, where—

“Ah-ah— _AAAAHHHHHH!!_ ”

She didn't know who that scream belonged to. It didn't really matter in the moment, not when this… this _nightmare_ was laid before them.

On the desk right in the middle of the room, lying slumped over into a partially-melted computer, head facing to one side with wide, unseeing eyes frozen with terror, a face with rivulets of blood running down it, and horribly burned skin, hair, and clothes…

…Was the body of the Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer, Nina Harrison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh would you look at that a body showed up. what could have possibly happened here? i wonder.
> 
> anyway for obvious reasons there won't be any more ftes until chapter 3 - i'll refrain from asking for any until we get to the closing stages of the upcoming trial since it would be pretty bad if you asked for someone and turns out they get executed. however do feel free to keep potential fte choices in mind as the case unfolds - who knows which characters might surprise you in the coming updates?


	16. Layer by Layer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now, time for the second investigation.
> 
> i went for something a little different here, choosing to focus on a core investigating team rather than have disjointed scenes where the whole cast kind of just talks and picks up a piece of evidence every now and then. this group will change for each investigation to better fit the mystery and so on, but i think it makes the flow of the investigation go a little better.
> 
> not that there's any less talking. this is still a danganronpa fic after all.

_Bing-bong! Bing-bong!_

“ _Attention students of Sun's Joy Academy – a body has been found! A body has been found! You bastards will have a little while to investigate before the school trial commences! Upupu…”_

Nina Harrison, the Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer… She was a good person, always trying to boost morale, to strengthen everyone's bonds. Even in the face of an inevitable death, she'd still opted to try and bring everyone together using only her talent and her kind nature.

She… was good. So, then…

So why…?

“F-f… _FUCK!!_ ” Chelsea shouted, backing up against the soot-stained wall of the IT room. Her face was a deathly shade of white. “N-no, no, no… this can't… this isn't fucking…”

“N-Nina…!” Charlie exclaimed, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“I-I…!” Joel tried to say, his voice breaking. He clenched his fist as his body started to tremble. “This… this can't be happening… _Nina_ can't be… I was supposed to protect her…!”

He looked over at her corpse and brought a hand to his mouth, nearly gagging. “I… I'll go get the others,” he said shakily. “Th-they… everyone needs to know…”

“The cafeteria,” Charlie said. “Marian and the others… they're still there…”

Joel nodded uneasily. “I-I'll just…” he said, taking unsteady steps towards the IT room's door. But before he could get any further, both John and Marian appeared in the doorway.

“Guys?” Marian said as she walked into the room. “Do you know if… Oh _no_.” Her face lost all colour as she looked at Nina's body.

“It was… Nina?” John said, almost in disbelief.

“Where… where are the others?” Charlie asked.

“Coming up,” Marian said. “John and I just ran ahead once we heard the announcement.”

“Ran ahead…?” Chelsea said.

“We could smell the smoke from downstairs, so we all decided to check it out,” John said.

“W-what about everyone outside?” Charlie asked.

“We tasked Cammy with bringing everyone here,” Marian said. “They… they should be here soon.”

As she spoke, Mark, Melissa, and Carlos showed up, each looking completely horrified.

“No… Not again…” Melissa said.

“Oh Jesus,” Mark said, tears in his eyes as his face turned green.

“No way,” Carlos said. “No way…”

The next two people to show up were Dirk and Ella. As he walked through into the IT room, Dirk flinched. “What… the hell happened here?”

“O-oh…” Ella said, turning pale as she took everything in. “No…”

“Did Cammy bring you?” Marian asked.

“No,” Dirk said. “We could see the smoke from outside, and then when the body discovery announcement played… we put two and two together.”

“From outside…?” John asked.

“…The window,” Ella said. “The smoke was coming from the window, and we both recognised it as the IT room, so we… came here.”

“But damn,” Dirk said. “Whoever did this really went all out – and I don't mean that in a good way, like at all.”

“Is… is anyone else hurt?” Ella asked.

“So far as we're aware, it's only Nina,” Marian said grimly. “We'll know for sure when everyone else arrives.”

“Ha ha! I'm here! And I brought—Eek!” Cammy shrieked as he appeared in the doorway. “No no no… Somebody else cannot be dead… that wasn't supposed to happen…”

Naomi rolled in through the door. “Who… ah— _aah_!” she screamed upon noticing Nina.

A few moments later, Ben walked through with Wyatt. “Oh, oh man…” Ben said.

“That's… not good,” Wyatt said.

“…Is everyone here now?” John asked.

“I think so,” Marian said. “Which also means… Nina's killer is among us as we speak.”

“Huh…?” Carlos said. “They're…?”

“So, you really think this is another murder,” Melissa said sadly.

“It's… hard to say otherwise, I guess,” Wyatt said uncomfortably.

“Someone did it again…” Chelsea said darkly. “Someone… decided to commit another murder…”

“Which… which means…” Carlos said. “We have to go through everything again… investigating, the trial, seeing someone get _executed_ …!”

“Upupu! Isn't it great?! You know, I always say the sequel is _way_ better than the first film!”

Monobear popped up out of nowhere, his red eye flashing as he grinned maniacally. “It took you bastards long enough, but congratulations on your second murder! Now we can really call this a School Life of Mutual Killing!”

“How… can you say that?” Mark said in horror. “Another one of our friends is dead!”

“Upupu… obviously, our dearly departed ETL Video Game Designer wasn't _everyone's_ friend,” Monobear said darkly. “Otherwise, she'd still be standing with us right now!”

“Don't… don't say that,” Melissa said.

“And, while I'm at it, you bastards are also _another_ friend shorter than you thought!” Monobear said, laughing. “I mean, can you really call someone who's willing to throw everyone's lives under the bus in order to escape a _friend_? Really?”

“Stop it,” Dirk said sternly. “You're here to dispense the next Monobear File, right? So just get on with it.”

“Uwah! So forceful!” Monobear cried. “But, since I'm an honest bear, I must admit that you're right on the money! So here it is… the second Monobear File!”

_Beep-beep!_

“And there it is,” Dirk said. “So if you have nothing else to contribute, leave.”

“Upu… upupu…” Monobear giggled. “Bwa-HAHAHAHA! I'm not ready to go just yet! I still have unfinished business!”

“Unfinished… business?” Joel said.

“Exactly!” Monobear said. He spun around on his feet and pointed a stubby paw towards Cammy. “I just need to make one thing clear, _buddy_ : you try to interfere with this investigation or trial in _any_ way and I'll show just what happens when I lose all patience for hope-driven secondary characters!”

“I…” Cammy said. “I won't—”

“Can it, chucklevoodoo,” Monobear growled. “I've hear it all before – we mustn't lose hope! I won't let you win! Evewyone will pwove to you that your despair will be defeated! – so save your breath for something that matters, okay?!”

Cammy looked down. “…”

“Aand, with that little tangent over with,” Monobear sang. “I wish you bastards luck in the upcoming trial! Will you uncover the killer, or will this heinous criminal get away with their crimes…? Upupu…!”

And with that, Monobear disappeared from sight.

“Goddamn bear,” Dirk said, folding his arms.

Marian frowned. “If only he was more cooperative,” she said. “There are some questions I would have liked to ask.”

“I don't know if he'd answer either way,” John said. “Seems like it would go against the rules of this game.”

“Maybe,” Marian said. “Now, a word of warning to the culprit: know that we will stop at nothing to uncover you, no matter the cost.”

“I… just wish whoever did it would speak up now and save us the trouble,” Naomi said sadly.

“They won't do that,” Dirk said. “They're part of Monobear's game now – any move they make other than to play spells out certain death. And I don't think anyone here would be able to do anything other than play along with this ultimatum over their head.”

“Yeah… you're probably right…” Naomi said with a sigh. “Still…”

“We can't dwell on that right now,” Marian said. “We must focus on uncovering as much evidence as possible – we need everyone's full cooperation. As cruel as this sounds, the mourning can come once we know everyone will be safe.”

“May I suggest something?” Melissa said.

“What is it?” Marian said.

“I was thinking… we should probably implement someone to guard the crime scene again,” Melissa said. “Things are already chaotic in here – we shouldn't risk having the evidence tampered with even further.”

“You're right,” Marian said. “Any volunteers?”

“Probably not the wisest idea,” Dirk said. “Don't wanna risk the culprit getting too close to the body.”

“In that case, I'd suggest people from the cafeteria group,” John said. “We already know none of those people were involved in the murder at all.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “I take it you're volunteering?”

“Of course,” John said. “I'm at my most useful when analysing the body, so I might as well take up position of guard.”

“Anybody else?” Marian asked.

“I… I don't think I could spend that much time around a body,” Mark said.

“I'm terribly sorry,” Melissa said, shaking her head. “I'm not up to something like that.”

“Yeah, I… I wouldn't be much use,” Carlos said.

“I have to say no, too…” Charlie said.

“So in that case, it leaves you and me,” John said.

“…Actually, I'm going to have to pass,” Marian said. “I'd like to do some investigating of my own this time around.”

“Ah, that's fine,” John said. “I'm just not sure if only having the one guard is a good idea.”

“…I'll do it,” Joel said with a grimace. “I… was supposed to be her bodyguard, right? I… can't let her down, even now…”

“Are you sure you're up to it?” John asked.

“I… need to make myself useful, somehow,” Joel said. He let out a hitched sob.

“Dude, no way,” Chelsea said. “Let me – you're pretty shaken up and there's no need to put you through more shit.”

“But…”

“Don't argue,” Chelsea said sternly. “You can help out later, but for now take a breather for twenty minutes or something to help you calm down. You won't get through the trial like this.”

“I guess…” Joel said uneasily. “But, so long as you let me help out when I'm good, okay?”

“That's fine,” Chelsea said with a forced smile. “I know how close you were with her – just take the time to get yourself into a good mental place.”

“Then… then I'll give it my all,” Joel said. “For Nina…”

“Okay, so Chelsea and John will be guarding the crime scene for the time being,” Marian said. “Joel may help out later on in the investigation. Is there anything else we need to clarify?”

“I'm working with Ella,” Dirk said. “Alone. There's no disputing it.”

“…Fine,” Marian said. “Just don't start conflict, okay?”

“We won't,” Dirk said. He turned to Chelsea. “And we will be investigating the body, so don't say anything there.”

Chelsea folded her arms and looked away. “Whatever. I'll save my accusations for the trial,” she said.

“Is everyone okay with what they're doing?” Marian asked.

“I mean, as fine as you can be with something like this…” Mark said.

Marian nodded. “In that case, good luck, everyone, and try to stay safe.”

Once she finished speaking, the students in the IT room dispersed out to begin their investigations, leaving only Marian, John, Chelsea, Charlie, and Carlos. Dirk and Ella were there too, but they were absorbed in checking out a stain on the wall.

“I guess… I should check the Monobear File first,” Marian muttered to herself. She pulled her ElectroID out from her jacket pocket and navigated to the newly-added file.

_**Monobear File #2** _

_**The Victim is Nina Harrison, Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer.** _

_**The body was found in the IT room.** _

_**Time of death is 14:38.** _

_**The victim has numerous burn wounds of varying severity. There is also evidence of blunt head trauma and bruising located on various parts of the victim's body, particularly in the head and neck regions.** _

“…You've read it, too?” John asked. “Then…”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “I'm curious about the time of death.”

“What time is it now?” John asked.

“Three-fifteen,” Marian said. “We've probably been standing around for five or so minutes.”

“I see,” John said. “So what time would you say the body discovery announcement played?”

“A little over ten minutes after Charlie left to check out the noise,” Marian said. “So I'd place it at around three pm.”

“Pretty short time frame we're dealing with,” John said. “Could be important.”

“…Yeah,” Marian said, making a mental note to remember that fact. “We'll probably need some testimonies to compare it against.” She paused, looking over at Nina. “Found anything out from the body?”

“Well,” John said uneasily. “More than I did with Andrew, at least.”

“But you couldn't deduce anything there,” Marian said. “Is it the same case here?”

“Not exactly,” John said. “I can definitely say that the culprit was emotionally heated at the time of the murder – it explains why a lot of Nina's injuries are up-close and personal in nature.”

“Hm,” Marian said. “Anything else?”

“…Yeah,” John said. He folded his arms. “It's likely that the killer's actions were premeditated to some extent, but by no more than a few hours at least.”

“You don't sound too certain,” Marian said.

“It's the fire,” John said. “A lot of Nina's body is damaged in a way that obscures what actually happened – I can't look for details if they've been burned off.”

“But you're mostly confident with what you have found out, right?” Marian asked.

“I think so,” John said. “Sorry I'm not much help.”

“Don't sweat it,” Marian said. “It seems that this place is hell-bent on making it hard for you to use your talent.”

“It certainly seems that way,” John said with an uneasy smile.

“Still, thanks for what you have managed to find out,” Marian said. “I'm going to take a closer look at the body, if that's okay.”

“Go ahead,” John said.

Marian walked past John and approached the desk where Nina's body lay. She took a deep breath in and out to steel herself, then got in as close as she could.

The first and most immediately noticeable thing was how burned-up Nina was – unlike fictional portrayals, Nina's burns consisted of long, violently red streaks across her skin that were still hot to touch, albeit a little damp due to the sprinkler that was positioned directly above her.

The burn wounds were angry and painful to look at, but… still, for someone caught in a fire, they weren't as bad as Marian had anticipated. Normally, victims of intense third-degree burns saw their skin turn either white or black, and while there were a few small patches of skin like that, Nina's skin was mostly red.

That wasn't the only thing. For the most part, despite being a little singed at the edges, Nina's clothes were mostly intact.

“Huh,” Marian said. “Some burn.”

The next thing that caught her eye was the back of Nina's neck. Other than not seeming too burned up, her neck was covered in small blue threads. Picking one up, it definitely felt like some kind of synthetic fabric.

“Hm,” Marian mumbled to herself. Glancing at the rest of Nina's body and the desk, it quickly became apparent that there weren't any blue threads anywhere else.

It didn't _seem_ relevant at the moment, but something nagged at Marian enough for her to make a mental note of it. She picked up a few of the threads and pocketed them. Maybe someone else would know more.

She stood up straight for a second and took a step back to gather her thoughts when she heard a _crunch_ underfoot. Immediately, Marian looked down and noticed that the floor around Nina was littered with shattered shards of glass.

Marian carefully picked one up, inspecting it closely. It was fairly thick glass with sharp edges. It was mostly clear, but there was some kind of faint stain on one side.

Maybe… could this be linked to the head trauma? Marian filed it away to think about later.

The next step was to take a closer look at Nina's face. Marian took another deep breath, steadied herself, and leaned in close.

Nina's face was mostly unburned, but was caked in blood that ran down from the top of her head. The side that was facing down was partially inside the shattered remains of the computer monitor in a way that implied that she had fallen into it with some force.

Carefully, Marian lifted Nina's head out of the computer and took a closer look. There were bruises all along that side of her face that mostly corresponded with where she'd hid the computer screen. They… definitely seemed more forceful and violent than Marian expected.

Gently lowering Nina's head back down, Marian went in to take a closer look at Nina's face. There was some light bruising here and there like the Monobear File indicated, but more pressingly…

There was a deep red line across Nina's windpipe, surrounded by countless tiny bruises. It was maybe half an inch in width, if that.

“Odd for this not to be on the Monobear File,” Marian said. “Unless this was also filed under 'bruising'…”

The next place Marian checked was the top of Nina's head, where the bleeding had originated from. After a few seconds of filtering through her hair and scalp, she located a long, deep cut right at the top of Nina's head. The blood in Nina's hair and on her face had mostly caked and dried now, but the cut was still slick with wet blood.

She thought about taking a closer look, but… there was too much blood to touch and she had a fairly good grasp as it was.

Satisfied that there was nothing else to see, Marian stepped away from Nina's body. At the same time, Chelsea walked up to her, an uneasy expression on her face.

“Man…” she said. “I mean, who'd… Nina was a good person, you know? What kind of _fucker_ would…”

“I wonder, too,” Marian said. “Hey, you were among the three to discover the body, weren't you?”

“…Yeah,” Chelsea said, looking away. “You know, there's not much worse than returning to the classroom you were in not ten minutes before and finding it like… well, this…” She grimaced. “I should've stayed with Nina a little longer after finishing up… maybe, it would've stopped this…”

“Don't blame yourself,” Marian said. “The only one at fault is the culprit who decided to end Nina's life.”

“Yeah…” Chelsea said.

“Also,” Marian said. “You were one of the last people to see Nina and since you first discovered her, mind if I ask you what happened? I'd like a clearer timeline of events.”

“Huh? Sure,” Chelsea said. “I don't know the exact timings, but after I finished up talking with Nina, Joel and I left the IT room to return me to the cafeteria. That was maybe at two thirty? We walked pretty slowly, just talking about stuff, and then we both realised we needed to use the bathroom.”

“Did you?” Marian asked. “How long did this take?”

“Well, we couldn't both go at once,” Chelsea said. “I realised it'd be a dumb idea to split up like that, especially with someone out there willing to kill, so one of us kept watch while the other used the bathroom.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “In what order did you arrange this?”

“I went to the bathroom first,” Chelsea said. “Joel kept watch outside until I was done.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “So then…”

“Joel went second,” Chelsea said. She frowned. “He took a little longer, but while I was keeping watch I started to smell the smoke.”

“And then what happened?”

“Joel came out of the bathroom pretty quickly after that,” Chelsea said. “He could smell it from in there, too.”

“And how long would you say using the bathroom took between the two of you?” Marian asked. “I'm sorry for the awkward questions, but it's to figure out how much time the culprit had.”

“I don't know,” Chelsea said. “I think I took maybe five minutes? Joel took maybe ten or so minutes, so the whole thing probably took around fifteen minutes.”

“…That places it at around two forty-five when you smelled the smoke, then,” Marian said.

“Sounds right,” Chelsea said. “Then, we hurried back up to the IT room and noticed the door was blocked, and maybe five minutes later Charlie showed up, and another five minutes after that we… yeah.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “Thanks, Chelsea. I think I've got a clearer picture of this case's timeline of events.”

“No problem,” Chelsea said. “You have any idea who did it yet?”

“…Not yet, sorry,” Marian said. “At this stage, the evidence is inconclusive.”

Chelsea folded her arms. “Huh…” she said. “Well, let's hope you realise who it is soon.”

“Oh?” Marian said. “You say that like you already have a suspect in mind.”

“Well, yeah,” Chelsea said. She said nothing more, but did look over to where Ella was standing.

“…Okay,” Marian said. “Maybe, if the evidence we find points to Ella, but for now it's too early to be making accusations.”

“Whatever,” Chelsea said. “I'd rather it was her than one of us. Good luck investigating.” She walked over to the other side of the room, and began looking at her ElectroID, evidently ending the conversation.

But… what was that about a blocked door? Maybe Joel or Charlie knew more. And since Joel wasn't here right now…

Marian found Charlie with Carlos by the doorway, looking at the sprinkler control panel on the wall.

“Oh, hi Marian…” Charlie said.

“Hey,” Carlos said, giving a small wave.

“Hi guys,” Marian said. “Charlie, mind if I ask you something?”

“O-of course not…” Charlie said. “If it can help to solve the case, then…”

“Good,” Marian said. “It's about when you found Nina's body. Chelsea mentioned that the IT room door was blocked – do you know anything about that?”

“Oh, yeah,” Charlie said. “When I came up, I found Joel and Chelsea standing by this bookcase that Chelsea said had been pushed over the IT room door. I helped them to push it out of the way, so we could get into the IT room and…” She trailed off, a pained look on her face. “I still can't believe something so cruel would happen…”

“I understand,” Marian said. “But for now, all we can do is make sure that everyone else stays okay, and try our hardest to get to the bottom of this. And thank you, Charlie – it's really helpful to know about the crime scene.”

“Well, I'm… I'm glad I could be helpful,” Charlie said with a bashful smile.

“You've been over here for a while, too,” Marian said. “Has anything caught your eye?”

“Oh, yeah!” Carlos said. “Charlie, tell her about the sprinkler system.”

“Sprinkler system?” Marian said.

“Y-yes,” Charlie said. “I noticed that when we got into the IT room, the sprinklers weren't working – Joel had to manually turn them on. So I took a look at the control panel, and, well…”

Charlie stood aside, giving Marian a good view of the LCD screen on the control panel. On the top of the screen it read **LOG**. Beneath that were two lines of text. The first read **DISABLED: 14:31** and the second read **MANUAL OVERRIDE – REACTIVATED: 14:57**.

“Someone turned them off?” Marian mused.

“It looks like it…” Charlie said.

“And, hey, look at the time,” Carlos said. “It was nearly ten minutes before Nina was killed – I wonder what's up with that…”

“That certainly is strange,” Marian said. “Thank you, you two, for pointing that out.”

“Whatever we can do to help, right?” Carlos said. He looked up thoughtfully. “Also, I've had something else on my mind, too…”

“What is it?” Marian asked.

“Well, those weird noises, remember?” Carlos said. “There was that loud thud just before we started smelling smoke, and that second thud a couple of minutes before the body discovery announcement. I don't know what it means, but… it just feels like something we should keep in mind.”

“You're right,” Marian said. “At this stage, we shouldn't disregard any information we come across. Thanks for reminding me.”

“It's no problem,” Carlos said. “I remember how we overlooked a lot of stuff the last time… I don't want that to happen again.”

“Don't worry,” Marian said. “With any luck, we should be able to figure out who the culprit is before we even set foot into that courtroom.”

“Yeah…” Carlos said, a haunted expression on his face. “Even if that means knowing which of our friends is going to be executed…”

Marian had nothing to say to that for a moment. She cleared her throat and then looked Carlos in the eyes. “I know it's awful, I know this _situation_ is awful, but we need to get through it first. Just… try and stay strong until we're done, all right?”

“I'll try…” Carlos said.

“That's all I can ask for,” Marian said. “Thanks again.”

She turned away from Carlos and Charlie and left them. As she walked, she very nearly ran into Dirk and Ella.

“Marian,” Dirk said. “How's it going?”

“You say that so casually,” Marian said. “But anyway… I'm not sure. I thought this case would be a lot simpler than last time, but I have all this information that doesn't seem to connect to anything.”

“…Yeah,” Dirk said. “So you've been having that problem, too. Whoever's behind this case is a lot craftier than our last culprit.”

Ella looked to the side, an uncomfortable expression on her face. “You don't need to put it like that,” she said.

“Hey, no offence, but you and Shauna were hardly criminal masterminds,” Dirk said.

“I don't know if I'm being complimented or insulted,” Ella said. She looked away thoughtfully. “But you're right… this case feels a lot more complicated than it should be.”

“What do you mean?” Marian said.

“Well,” Ella said. “Logically, the sequence of events goes: the killer attacked Nina, set the room on fire, left, then rejoined us after the body discovery announcement played. All this happened in twenty minutes or so, so you'd expect to find some kind of definitive clue right here.”

“There might have been,” Marian said. “But the fire complicates things.”

“Not as much as you'd think,” Ella said.

“Oh?” Marian said.

“I mean, if you look closely, things seem a little weird,” Ella said. “The walls look all burned up, but it's mostly just smoke and soot staining, and none of the electronics in here really have any sign of extensive fire damage.”

“Wait, really?” Marian said.

“Yeah,” Ella said. “In fact, the most damage seems to be centred around Nina's body – even then, she's not as burned up as you'd think. It really doesn't make sense, especially when you consider how much smoke was coming out of this room.”

“I mean, Nina's computer's a wreck,” Dirk said. “But all the fire damage is more located underneath the desk.”

“Underneath?”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “The wires and stuff are all practically burned to dust, but the actual computer itself has only been damaged by the water from the sprinklers and being hit by brute force.”

“That's… strange,” Marian said.

“I think it says more about how the fire started and spread,” Dirk said. “But that's something we should think about during the trial rather than now.”

“If you say so,” Marian said. “You also mentioned the case itself being complicated… could you elaborate?”

“Only if you're willing to let us partner up with you throughout this investigation,” Dirk said. “You're one of the few confirmed innocent people and as the de facto leader, people are less likely to get confrontational with us if you're around.”

“Well…” Marian said. “I get the feeling that neither of you two are behind this, so I accept – anything to help us find the truth.”

“Awesome,” Dirk said.

“So what is it you were getting at?” Marian asked.

“I'm actually surprised you haven't noticed yet,” Dirk said.

“What do you mean?” Marian said.

Dirk extended his arms as if to gesture to the entire IT room. “Think about the way the whole crime scene's set up – a body alone in a room, a timeframe that barely makes sense, and the only viable exit blocked up.”

“Hold on,” Marian said. “You're not saying… this is a locked room murder?”

“It would seem that way, right?” Dirk said. “Or, at least an approximation of one.”

“What's the catch?” Marian asked.

“You catch on pretty quickly,” Dirk said. He looked around before leaning in close. “I'll explain but only when we're out of this room.”

“Why?”

“Trust me,” Dirk said. “It's something I'd rather explain out of earshot.”

“…Well, okay,” Marian said. “I think I've seen all there is to see in here, anyway.”

Marian followed Dirk and Ella as they hurried out of the IT room and into the classroom next door, not even giving her a chance to inspect the hallway.

The classroom next to the IT room was nothing special – just a room with desks, a whiteboard, and a waist-height bookcase with wheels attached to it in the corner.

“So,” Marian said. “Can you explain what the catch to the locked room is?”

“Sure,” Dirk said. “Look at this.”

Dirk walked over to the corner of the room and grabbed the bookcase, pulling it away from the wall.

“…What are you doing?” Marian asked. As she spoke, Dirk pointed at the wall where the bookcase had rested, revealing a low yet wide opening.

“Here's your answer,” Dirk said.

“Is that… a crawlspace?” Marian asked.

Ella nodded. “It connects to the IT room,” she said. She looked away nervously. “…I first noticed something when Shauna and I were in there and looking through the laptop storage cart, but didn't look any further.”

“We checked it again just now, and there's a hole just like this hidden in the IT room as well,” Dirk said. “You can check it out if you're not sure.”

Wordlessly, Marian walked over to the hole in the wall and crouched down. Sure enough, she could see the carpet of the IT room and the wheels of the storage cart on the other side. “Why would a school ever need this?” she asked.

“Beats me,” Dirk said. “But, architectural questions aside, I think this shows how our culprit escaped the locked room.”

“Interesting,” Marian said. “Do either of you know anyone who would know about this?”

“Only if someone has thoroughly searched the IT room,” Ella said. “It's likely the culprit only found out about it when they were looking for a way out themselves.”

“I see,” Marian said. “Well, you're right. That certainly does complicate things. We'll have to completely re-evaluate the culprit's movements, taking this hidden escape route into account.”

“Maybe,” Dirk said. “Anyway, I heard you talking with Charlie about the bookshelf being used to block the IT room door. That's probably worth looking at, too.”

“That was actually where I was going to go after talking with you and Ella,” Marian said. “So yes, let's go take a look.”

The three of them moved from the classroom to the hallway again, stopping by the bookshelf next to the IT room door.

“This the thing?” Dirk said. “Damn, it's pretty big.”

“And heavy-looking,” Ella said. “The culprit really dragged this in front of the door?”

“I see no reason why Charlie would lie about it,” Marian said. “She was with us in the cafeteria at the time of the murder, so it's not like she can be considered a suspect by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Yeah, you're probably right,” Dirk said.

“And this was definitely used to seal the door?” Ella asked.

“I think so,” Marian said. She walked up to the bookcase. “Yeah, look at this.”

The books on the shelves were all leaning to the side as if the entire bookcase had been nudged. The books on the upper shelves leaned to the left, while the books below leaned to the right.

“Huh,” Dirk said. “All the books are funny.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “The bookcase is to the left of the IT room door – the lighter-looking books are all leaning to the left, as if the bookcase was pushed to the right.”

“And the heavier ones are leaning to the right,” Ella said. “They're sturdy enough that it would take a second movement to knock them over.”

“Well, this pretty much conclusively proves that the bookcase was moved over the door,” Dirk said.

“It's a lot of effort to go to, though,” Ella said. “Why not just lock the door instead?”

“Maybe there's something to do with the lock mechanism?” Marian pondered.

“Could be,” Dirk said. “If it's on an electronic lock system, you'd have to use your ElectroID to lock it, and that leaves a record behind.”

“So this is their solution to locking the room up without implicating themselves,” Marian said.

“Seems that way,” Dirk said.

As they spoke, Carlos and Charlie came out of the IT room side-by-side.

“Oh, hey guys,” Carlos said. “Charlie and I are going to take a breather in the cafeteria for a few minutes, just so you know.”

“That's fine,” Marian said. “Did you find out anything else?”

Carlos looked down awkwardly. “Not really,” he said. “Chelsea was getting agitated and pacing, so we didn't really want to get in her way, and, well… neither of us are cut out to inspect a body.”

“That's understandable,” Marian said. “You've already contributed some useful evidence, so if you need a break, feel free.”

“Thanks for understanding,” Carlos said. “Let's go Charlie.”

“One second,” Charlie said. She turned to the three of them. “Um, you guys look pretty interested in the door… is something wrong with it?”

“Other than the culprit choosing to push a bookcase over it instead of lock it, then no,” Dirk said, glancing at his PDA.

“Well, I don't know if it helps…” Charlie said. “But… when we moved the bookcase out of the way to get to the IT room, the door was still open.”

“…What?” Dirk asked, folding his arms.

Charlie nodded. “Not by much,” she said. “Probably just enough for someone to get through… but it was open.”

“Well then,” Dirk said. “That's interesting.”

“A bookcase pushed over an open door…” Ella said. “Strange.”

“Thanks for letting us know, Charlie,” Marian said. “You've been a real big help this investigation.”

“Th-thanks,” Charlie said, blushing. “I just wish… things didn't have to be like _this_ for me to be useful…”

“Me too,” Marian said. “Now, take care you two.”

“Will do,” Carlos said. “See you around.”

He took Charlie by the hand and they vanished down the hallway.

“Cute,” Dirk said plainly.

“Yeah,” Ella said as she walked up to the bookcase. “It's actually quite… huh?”

“What is it?” Marian asked.

“…Here,” Ella said. She pointed to the space between two books on one of the shelves in the middle of the bookcase. “There's something.”

“Let me look,” Marian said. She walked up to the books in question and pulled one out, revealing two objects: a light pink band of fabric and a small cardboard box.

“This… looks like a headband,” Ella said, picking it up. “And… there's a little blood on it. Why is this here?”

Dirk leaned in and grabbed the small box. He broke the seal and opened it up. “It's a matchbox,” he said. “Weird things to be in a bookcase.”

“I think we can conclude that they were placed here by the culprit,” Marian said. “And the matchbox is probably what they used to start the fire.”

“And the headband?” Ella asked.

“I think the bloodstain proves it was involved in the murder somehow,” Marian said. “It probably links to the culprit in some way, so they tried to get rid of it.”

“It's still a little strange,” Dirk said. “Why not just light it on fire and be done with it?”

“Maybe they didn't realise it until after they'd already left the IT room,” Marian said. “Locked room or not, it's still unlikely they'd go back into a burning classroom to dispose of one piece of evidence.”

“Still, that might be something to keep in mind,” Ella said. “Forgetting something as obvious as that… it might help us to get a clearer profile of the killer.”

“Maybe,” Marian said. She glanced around the hallway. “…I think that's everything here.”

“I'm with you there,” Dirk said.

“So, where do we go from here?” Ella asked.

“I think it'd be good to figure out the actions of everyone who wasn't in the cafeteria at the time of the murder,” Marian said. “Plus, I'd like to find out where the killer got several objects used in the murder from.”

“And I take it we're included in the category of _everyone who wasn't in the cafeteria_ ,” Dirk said.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Marian said. “I know this is unneeded, but just for the record, do you have any kind of alibi during the time of the murder?”

“Nothing anyone can prove,” Dirk said. “Sorry.”

“Yeah,” Ella said. “What we were doing and where we were doing it… it was only us.”

“I see,” Marian said. “I'm fairly certain it wasn't either of you, so I won't harass you for details.”

“Good,” Dirk said. “We wouldn't have given them anyway.”

“...Okay,” Marian said.

“So, where are we going next?” Ella asked.

“The cafeteria seems to be a location of interest,” Marian said. “Even if there's nothing there, it seems to be where a lot of people are gathered. Maybe someone has something useful to say.”

“Testimony gathering's never a bad thing to do,” Dirk said. “I mean, look at the lengths Mark went to last time.”

“But if I recall, didn't those alibi interviews end up implicating you?” Marian asked.

Dirk shrugged. “I deliberately implicated myself a hell of a lot more than one missing video could,” he said. “Anyway, let's go.”

The three of them moved down the hallway towards the stairs, but Ella suddenly stopped.

“Look at this,” she said, pointing to an otherwise nondescript door at the end of the hallway just before the corner.

“…A supply closet?” Dirk said.

“I don't know,” Ella said. “But there, on the handle.”

Marian leaned in closer to the door and looked by the handle. It was coated by a red stain, and a little above it…

“A bloody handprint?” Marian said. “That's… odd.”

“Maybe there's something inside,” Dirk said, walking up to the door. Tentatively, he covered his hand with his sleeve and grabbed the handle, then pushed. “…Okay. That's not right.”

“What is it?” Marian asked.

“The door's locked,” Dirk said. He rolled his eyes. “Of course it would be.”

“Obviously it was done by the killer,” Ella said. “But… why? I really don't see how this links to the crime scene at all.”

“No, you're right,” Marian said. “This is strange in that regard. But we can't really ignore a bloodstained locked door.”

“Maybe we'll find the answer the more we investigate,” Dirk said. “And if the worst comes to it, we can use Monobear to unlock the door—”

“Upupu… is that all I am to you bastards?! A glorified key?!” And suddenly Monobear was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking irate.

Ella flinched, while Dirk didn't even seem fazed. “Well, at least that would give you _some_ use,” he said dryly.

“I'll have you bastards know I'm more than that! I'm Monobear, for crying out loud!” Monobear snapped.

“As you like to point out nearly every time you interact with us,” Ella said.

“ _Forgive me_ for realising the irrefutable truth that I am simply the greatest being there is!” Monobear retorted. “If you were a dashingly gorgeous bear like I am, maybe you'd understand!”

“No—look—you're not even a…” Ella tried to say.

“I am your _headmaster_! You should be overjoyed whenever you see me!” Monobear continued. “I mean, look at me! All I've done for you bastards! All this wonderful despair I've let you experienced! And still, after so much, the disrespect…! It's enough to make me suicidal!”

“Then off yourself already,” Dirk said. “And take this bullshit game down with you.”

“No can do!” Monobear chirped. “The School Life of Mutual Killing is _far_ too important for me to just let perish like that! No, I'll have to save my grand suicide until _after_ its completion!”

“What do you mean by that?” Marian asked. “How can any of this possibly have any significance?”

“Anyway, what are you bastards still doing yapping to me?!” Monobear said. “Don't you have a murder to solve?”

“Yeah, and speaking of which,” Dirk said. “Open this door for us.”

“Um, let me see…” Monobear said, tilting his head. “Nope! No can do!”

“Why not,” Dirk asked.

“Because that would be too easy! Too obvious!” Monobear said. “Where's the fun in the investigation and trial if all the answers are immediately made available to you?!”

“And where's the fun if we all die and your game ends because you didn't want us to look in a certain room?” Dirk shot back coolly.

“Eh…” Monobear said. “If you're so interested, go find another way in! I won't stop you, but I'm not going to help you bastards out! Solve this mystery for yourselves!”

And, again, he was gone.

“And the bear continues to be needlessly difficult,” Dirk said. “Of course.”

“So what do we do about this?” Ella asked. “Do we go look for another way in?”

“…We wouldn't have the time,” Dirk said. “We can come back here later if we have the time – it's more important to talk to everyone else and investigate more accessible areas before the culprit interferes.”

“You're probably right,” Marian said uneasily. “Let's hope that whatever's here isn't that urgent.”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “It's unlikely that there'll be some decisive piece of evidence just lying around in some nondescript room.”

“So then, should we go to the cafeteria?” Marian asked.

Dirk nodded. “Let's go.”

They left the bloody door as it was and turned down the hallway, passing by the bathrooms and a couple of classrooms before heading down the stairs, quickly reaching the cafeteria.

As Marian went to open the cafeteria doors, two figures stepped out, nearly crashing into her.

“…Oh! Marian!” Wyatt said. He laughed uneasily. “Sorry about that. Didn't see you there.”

“Yeah, our bad,” Ben said. “How's the investigation going on your end?”

“We've found out a few things,” Marian said. “Still, we're not as close to the killer as I'd like to be.”

“Huh,” Wyatt said. “At least it seems like there's more evidence this time around. Maybe something will point to someone?”

“Maybe, after we look at everything a little more closely,” Marian said.

“Well, I guess good luck with that,” Wyatt said.

“Hey,” Marian said. “Before you go, I'd like to ask you two some questions if that's okay.”

“Of course,” Ben said. “Go ahead.”

“Well,” Marian said. “I'd just like to know where you two were and what you were doing around the time of the murder.”

“Our alibi, then,” Wyatt said. He frowned. “It makes it feel a little more real when you use words like that.”

“That aside,” Ben said. “That's fairly easy. Both of us were together in the textile building when the murder was happening.”

“And what were you doing in there?” Dirk asked.

“…Well,” Wyatt said. He looked to the side. “Just…checking out some cool-looking fabrics, is all.”

“Uh huh,” Dirk said. “Is that all?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Ben said. “We were just doing that, until the announcement. Then Cammy came for us and brought us up to the IT room.”

“And, well, here we are,” Wyatt said wryly. “Sorry we don't have much more to add, but I guess that's just what happens when you're not really involved.”

“All right,” Marian said. “Is there anyone else that can confirm this alibi?”

“Uh,” Ben said. “Cammy coming to get us counts, right?”

“…It's not the strongest alibi, but I suppose you're right,” Marian said.

“Good,” Wyatt said. “Now, I guess we'll see you three at the trial.”

Without so much as another word, Wyatt and Ben walked past them and vanished down the hallway.

“Well, that sure was an encounter that happened,” Dirk said.

“They seemed a little distracted,” Ella said. “But then again, it's understandable after seeing the dead body of one of your friends.”

“…Huh,” Marian said uneasily. “I should have asked Wyatt about the fabric on Nina's body. Oh well – there's time for that later. For now, let's go through.”

Marian walked past Dirk and Ella and opened up the cafeteria doors, stepping inside.

There were indeed quite a few people hanging around the cafeteria. Carlos and Charlie sat at a table by the window, looking shaken. At a smaller table closer to the entrance, Naomi sat across from Joel, looking like she was trying to talk to him. And at the central table was Mark, talking with Cammy who sat atop the table, looking as troubled as his puppet face would let him.

“This place is popping,” Dirk said flatly. “And seems to be the hub for people who aren't investigating.”

“Don't be so harsh,” Marian said. “One of our friends is lying dead in a classroom upstairs. Most normal people would still be in shock.”

“And someone here put said friend in that position,” Dirk said. “I know you don't want to hear this, but we won't get anywhere if we trust everyone blindly.”

“…Still,” Marian said. “Only one person did something wrong. There's no point in creating distrust among everyone.”

“Do you have a concrete suspect, then?” Dirk asked.

“No,” Marian said uneasily.

“In that case, we have to do this,” Dirk said. “The priority right now is to survive.”

With that, he walked over to the table where Naomi and Joel were sitting. Marian and Ella quickly followed suit.

“Yo,” Dirk said.

“Oh, hey, Dirk,” Naomi said. “And Ella and Marian, too.”

“How are you doing?” Marian asked.

“As good as you can be, I guess,” Naomi said with a shrug. “I've tried talking to Joel, but… he's really torn up over this.”

“No, I…” Joel said, swallowing. His eyes were red and puffy. “I'm good.”

“Uh huh,” Naomi said. She folded her arms. “Because spending the last thirty minutes straight just crying into the table is good.”

“I'm… sorry,” Joel said. He wiped his eyes. “I'll… try to do more from now on. It's just… I can't help but feel like this is my fault…”

“Joel,” Marian said. “Why on earth would this be your fault?”

“…Because I was supposed to be her bodyguard, right?” Joel said. “And that meant protecting her. And… I couldn't even do that.”

“We're high-school students,” Ella said critically. “It's ridiculous to expect you should be capable of preventing a murder. In fact, it's wrong for us to even have to _deal_ with a murder in the first place.”

“I… should've tried harder,” Joel said. “My talent's about saving lives, but I couldn't even save Nina…”

“Listen,” Ella said softly. “Take it from someone who failed to prevent the last murder from happening: what's done is done. You can't change what happened, but you can try your hardest to help protect everyone else's lives. Nina might be gone, but we're not. Focus on that, because if we don't catch the culprit, then everyone will die, understand?”

“I just… I feel awful, like I could have done more,” Joel said.

“That doesn't matter right now,” Ella said. “The only thing you can do is try harder next time. You may have failed here, in your words, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again. And besides, you can only truly fail if you don't bring Nina's killer to justice.”

“…” Joel looked down. “You're… right. I'm sorry – I'll try harder from now on.”

“We're not expecting the impossible from you, Joel,” Marian said. “Just that you don't give up.”

“O-okay, yeah, okay,” Joel said. He took a couple of deep breaths. “For… for Nina.” He clenched his fists and a determined expression came over his face. “I'm ready to do this.”

“Awesome,” Naomi said. “That's the spirit!”

“With that settled,” Marian said. “I hope you two don't mind if I ask some questions.”

“Sure,” Naomi said.

Joel nodded. “Go ahead.”

“For the record, I just want to know where you both were and what you were doing during the murder,” Marian said.

“Oh, sure!” Naomi said. “I was at the skate park the whole time, until the announcement played and Cammy showed up to take me to the crime scene…”

“You were alone?” Marian asked.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that…” Naomi said sheepishly. “But, I didn't do it! I swear!”

“Whether or not you did it isn't the point right now,” Dirk said. “To clarify, you don't have an alibi that anyone can confirm, right?”

“Heh, I guess not…” Naomi said. “You could say Cammy showing up counts, but then again, I could have killed Nina and come all the way back with enough time to spare, so not really.”

“Well, thanks for that, anyway,” Marian said.

“Hey, I have a question,” Ella said. “You said you'd have enough time to kill Nina and then make it back to the skate park… how long would you say it takes to travel this distance?”

“I hope this doesn't make me sound suspicious,” Naomi said, “but maybe five minutes? It might take a little longer if you're walking all the way from the third floor, but no more than ten minutes in total.”

“I see,” Ella said. “And for reference, how long would it take to travel from the central building to the academy gates at the edge of the campus?”

“Probably another five minutes from the skate park,” Naomi said. “It's pretty much halfway between the central building and the southern edge of the campus – the only thing closer is the textile building, I think? – but it's a straight path to the gates.”

“Thanks for that,” Ella said.

“Um, I don't want to sound rude, but what's the point of asking that?” Naomi asked.

“I just needed to clarify something,” Ella said.

“And what's that?” Marian asked. “Because I feel a little lost too.”

“I don't know for certain, so I won't say right now,” Ella said. “But, it feels like something important to keep in mind.”

“Well, if you say so…” Marian said. “And thanks for telling us, Naomi.”

“No problem!” Naomi said. “I'm happy to help.”

“So… I guess it's my turn, right?” Joel said.

“Yes,” Marian said. “Joel, could you say where you were and what you were doing during the murder?

“Sure,” Joel said. “I left Nina in the IT room when I went to take Chelsea back down to the cafeteria, then we stopped for a bathroom break. We, uh, took watch when the other one was in there to make sure nothing bad happened.”

“Okay,” Dirk said. “Who went to the bathroom when?”

“I watched over Chelsea first, then she watched over when I went to the bathroom,” Joel said. “Then I… I'm not sure how long it was, but then I could smell smoke from in there, so I left. Then me and Chelsea went back to the IT room and then… well, everything else happened.”

“I see,” Marian said. “Thanks for letting us know, Joel.”

“No problem,” Joel said.

“I just have one more question,” Marian said. “How long did this whole bathroom ordeal take?”

“I… I don't know exactly,” Joel said. “I think I was in there longer than Chelsea? I wasn't keeping track of the time, but maybe ten minutes? Fifteen?”

“What were you doing in the bathroom?” Dirk asked.

“…Dude,” Joel said uneasily. “You're really asking that? _Really_?”

“…I think we can assume for ourselves what he was doing,” Ella said. “Let's not make things awkward.”

“Fine,” Dirk said.

“Do you have anything else to say?” Marian said.

“I… don't think so,” Joel said. “Nothing useful for the investigation, anyway.”

“All right then. We'll leave you be,” Marian said. “Good luck investigating.”

“You too,” Naomi said. “We're probably gonna go check out the IT room ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “I'm still supposed to guard the crime scene, right? I'd be pretty useless if I didn't do my job at all. Plus… I think I'd like to try and find out what happened to Nina as well.”

“In that case, I wish you the best of luck,” Marian said. “Stay safe.”

“Right back atcha,” Naomi said. Then, together with Joel, they both left the cafeteria.

“I guess that does it for alibis, then,” Dirk said.

“Not quite,” Marian said. “There's still someone else I'd like to speak with.”

“Who?” Ella asked.

“Cammy,” Marian said, motioning to the central table. “I just… need to be sure of something.”

Marian approached the central table with Dirk and Ella flanking her. Almost immediately, Mark noticed their presence.

“Hey guys,” he said. “You okay?”

“Objectively,” Marian said. “How about you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Mark said. “I've been stuck here listening to Cammy wail about how cruel everything is.”

“Any reason why you're here?” Dirk asked.

“Well, I thought about using my camera to film alibi interviews again,” Mark said. “But… since most of us were all gathered together, it didn't seem worthwhile. Then, while Melissa and I were discussing what to do next, Cammy showed up, and I've been stuck here since.”

“Huh,” Dirk said. “Where's Melissa now?”

“In the kitchen,” Mark said. “She's getting a drink.”

“Okay,” Dirk said.

“Hoo hoo… I hope she's not in any danger…” Cammy said, suddenly and intrusively.

“Puppet,” Dirk said.

“Ha ha, yes?” Cammy said.

“I'm gonna say right now for you to stop moping before it becomes a problem,” Dirk said. “We're on a time limit and have things we need to ask you.”

“Hee hee! Ask me?” Cammy said. “What do you mean? Am I suspicious?”

“…Not that,” Marian said. “But, I do want to know something.”

“Of course!” Cammy said. “Ask away.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “So we're clear, in what order did you gather the other students who weren't around for the body discovery announcement?”

“Hoo hoo! I can answer that!” Cammy said. “Well, I first went to the textile building to tell Wyatt and Ben!”

“The textile building?” Dirk asked.

“Ha ha! Yes!” Cammy said. “It is further away than the skate park, so it made sense to go there and then go to the skate park on the way back!”

“I see,” Marian said. “And after you'd told everyone, what happened next?”

“Hoo hoo!” Cammy said. “Then we all went up to the IT room together!”

“You didn't separate or anything?” Ella asked.

“Ha ha! We didn't!” Cammy said. “I did run ahead a little when we got close to the IT room, but nobody left each other's sight the entire time!”

“So that's the case…” Marian said. “Thank you, Cammy.”

“Hee hee… I just want to help everyone,” Cammy said. “And… and even… even if that means proving one of you…! Hoo hoo, I can't even say it…!”

“Now you've started him off,” Mark said. “I really appreciate that.”

“A necessary sacrifice,” Dirk said.

“Oh, this is so horrible!” Cammy wailed.

“Really?” Mark said. “Is it really?”

“Ha ha… Monobear… he's too cruel…”

“I think we get it, Cammy,” Ella said falteringly.

“I just… I just wish this didn't have to happen…!”

“Cammy, please,” Marian said.

“Hee hee… is this what despair really feels like…? Oh, this is awful! I'm so sorry for everyone!” Cammy currently lay flat across the table, covering his eyes with one gangly puppet arm. “I must… I must find some way to raise everyone's hopes again! I must… I must protect everyone…!”

“Well, there are only two ways you can do that,” Dirk said. “Either dismantle this killing game from the ground up in the next hour, or uncover the killer so the rest of us can live.”

“Hoo hoo… too cruel, too cruel…!” Cammy said.

“I'm done listening to him,” Dirk said. “Let's go to the kitchen.”

“Mind if I come with?” Mark said. “I've been dealing with this nearly the whole investigation.”

“No problem,” Marian said.

“Monobear… I swear…!” Cammy was saying as the four students slipped past him and through into the kitchen.

The kitchen itself looked the same as it always did – there was no real sign anything had been tampered with. Melissa stood in the corner of the room, distracted with the vending machine.

“You think anything in here could be used as a weapon?” Dirk asked.

“I wouldn't say so,” Marian said. “The only real things of interest here are the knives, and there isn't any evidence that Nina was stabbed.”

“So, no then,” Ella said. “Not that there was likely to be something in here.”

“Yeah…” Marian said. “We were all in the cafeteria during the murder, so we would've seen if someone had gone into the kitchen and done something suspicious.”

“Actually…” Mark said. “There was one person who came in here, right?”

“Really?” Dirk said.

“Yeah,” Mark said. “Chelsea. She came in for a drink just before Joel came to take her up to Nina.”

“I see,” Ella said. “That's probably important, right?”

“Worth making a note of, at least,” Marian said. “I feel like it'd do good to have a reference of what everyone was doing.”

“Noted then,” Dirk said, typing into his PDA.

“Is there anything else in here we should check out?” Ella said.

“Well… let's speak with Melissa, at least,” Marian said. “It's always good to get another perspective on things.”

Everyone walked up to Melissa, who was still at the vending machine.

“Oh, hello everyone,” Melissa said. “How's everything going?”

“It's going,” Marian said. “How about you?”

Melissa adjusted the strap of her bag nervously. “Truthfully… I haven't looked around as much as I'd wanted to. I mean, I looked a little at the crime scene, but…”

“Cammy decided to be an ass and monopolise our time,” Mark said.

“Yeah, that,” Melissa said.

“So, what are you doing now?” Ella said.

“Getting drinks,” Melissa said. “And kind of stalling a little to avoid dealing with Cammy.”

“I can see why,” Marian said.

“...Do you want anything?” Melissa asked.

“No, I think we're good,” Marian said.

“Okay then. In that case…” Melissa turned to the vending machine and typed in the code. A few seconds later she was holding two glass bottles of Coke. She passed one to Mark.

“Thanks,” Mark said. He removed the lid and drank a mouthful.

Ella looked at him, concerned. “How did you do that?” she asked.

“Oh, the bottle caps,” Mark said. “You just peel them off instead of having to use another tool to open them up.”

“Huh,” Ella said. “Okay then.”

“But the rest of it's still normal,” Mark said. “I thought more people would have known.”

“Why is that?” Marian asked.

“Well,” Melissa said. “It seems to be the most popular option – the vending machine's nearly out of them.”

“Really?” Marian said. “Interesting.”

“Is it?” Melissa asked. “I'm not so sure.”

“No, it is,” Marian said. “Something like that definitely feels significant.”

“Do you have any idea how it ties into the case?” Mark asked.

“Not yet,” Marian said. “But, in our defence, we've mostly spent the investigation gathering evidence rather than putting it together.”

“Well, maybe when we discuss it at the trial things will make more sense,” Mark said.

“That's the plan, at least,” Marian admitted.

“Well… good luck with the rest of your investigation,” Mark said.

“Oh? Going somewhere?” Ella asked.

“Yeah,” Mark said. “We're finally away from Cammy, so we might as well use this opportunity to look around a little more.”

“No offence to the puppet,” Melissa said, “but he gets very overbearing very quickly.”

“Well, Cammy's something we'll have to deal with after this trial's over with,” Dirk said. “For now, let's just focus on solving the murder.”

“You're right,” Mark said. “So, I'll see you guys later.”

“Good luck,” Melissa said, and then the two of them were gone.

“Well,” Marian said. “Where to now?”

“I think we've covered pretty much everything in this building,” Ella said. “Maybe we could check out where Naomi, Ben, and Wyatt were? Since they were the only people not in the central building at the time of the murder that we know of.” She looked to the side. “Discounting Dirk and I, of course.”

“So, the skate park and the textile building…” Marian said.

“I'd say pass on the skate park,” Dirk said.

“Oh? Why's that?” Marian asked.

“I can't really say much right now, but trust me,” Dirk said. “The skate park has nothing to do with this case. Let it be.”

“…Okay then,” Marian said. “If you're so persistent.”

“Hold on,” Dirk said. He typed something on his PDA then showed it to Marian, covering it from the camera in the ceiling. He placed his finger to his lips, then pointed at the screen.

**Got my eye on the place. Hacked surveillance. May have to do with mastermind. Avoid going there unnecessarily. Naomi knows as well. Talk more about it after trial but don't mention it to anyone unless I OK it.**

“Okay,” Marian said, constructing a perfectly blank face. Dirk deleted the message. “So, I guess we're off to the textile building.”

“Seems to be that way,” Ella said. “Let's go.”

The three of them returned to the cafeteria, sneaked past Cammy, then headed through the hallway towards the stairs to the first floor. However, before they got too far, Dirk came to a stop.

“Is something wrong?” Marian asked.

“Kinda,” Dirk said. “Look, I know this'll sound lame, but I need a bathroom break.”

“Really?” Marian said, raising an eye.

“I can't help it if I have to go,” Dirk said, folding his arms. “And better now than to endure the entire trial needing a piss. I don't think Monobear will suspend the school trial just because someone has to go potty.”

“But we don't know how much time we have left,” Marian said. “We've been investigating for a while now.”

“Then go ahead without me,” Dirk said. “You two go check out the textile building, and I'll go see if there's anything we missed here.”

“Are you sure?” Marian said. “You were pretty adamant on sticking with Ella the entire time.”

“Look, I trust you enough, okay?” Dirk said. He looked around uncomfortably. “Anyway, I really, actually have to go.”

“…Fine then,” Marian said. “Good luck if I don't see you before the trial. And stay safe.”

“Yeah, you too,” Dirk said. “Ella, look out for yourself too, all right?”

“Okay,” Ella said.

“And with that,” Dirk said. He turned away from them and hurried down the hall to wherever the nearest bathrooms were.

“…That's an inconvenience,” Marian said.

“But as he said,” Ella said. “Better now than during the trial.”

“I suppose he has a point,” Marian said.

“So, should we head off to the textile building now?” Ella said.

“Sure,” Marian said “Let's go.”

They headed down the stairs to the first floor and through the hallway, but again, Ella came to a stop.

“…What now?” Marian said. “Tell me you don't need the bathroom, too.”

Ella shook her head. “No, nothing like that,” she said. “It's just… I was thinking about the motive.”

“The motive?” Marian said. “I'd nearly forgotten about that.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ella said. “Still… do you think it's a good idea to check the meeting hall out again?”

“Could be,” Marian said. “In fact… the phone could tell us a lot about the murder.”

“What do you have in mind?” Ella asked.

“Well… let's not get our hopes up about this being too decisive,” Marian said. “Let's head to the meeting hall.”

Rather quickly, Ella and Marian made their way into the meeting hall. It looked the exact same as it did the last time they were here, including the phone.

“So, what are you thinking of here?” Ella asked as Marian continued to walk up to the phone.

“I want to check the timer,” Marian said.

“Why?” Ella asked.

“Because that way we'll know for sure that the killer and the person who used the phone are one and the same,” Marian said.

“Ah, I didn't think about that,” Ella said. “Smart.”

“Well… let's see if that's the case,” Marian said. She stopped once she had approached the phone, and took a closer look.

The countdown timer had stopped, with the display reading **35:18:12**.

“Well, it's stopped all right,” Marian said. “So we can assume the person who made the call did in fact commit murder.” She paused for a second, looking up in thought. “Ella, how good are you at calculating time?”

“Fairly all right,” Ella said.

“So, could you figure out what time this countdown stopped at?” Marian asked.

“I think so,” Ella said. “Since we know from earlier that the phone was used at roughly two in the morning, and since the timer went for over thirteen hours… it's safe to say that the countdown stopped around two-forty, give or take.”

“And Nina died at two-thirty-eight,” Marian said. “I think that's fairly conclusive.”

“Yeah…” Ella said. “There's no way around that.”

“In a way, I suppose it's a little better,” Marian said. “We could have come in here and found the timer still ticking and had to deal with the knowledge that another murder would happen.”

“…I suppose,” Ella said. “Hey, I just thought of something.”

“What?” Marian said.

“The culprit may not be the one behind the call,” Ella said. “Monobear implied the countdown would end when the person who used the phone died, so…”

“You think it could have been Nina who made the call?” Marian said.

“I… don't know,” Ella said. “But it's still a possibility.”

“It is,” Marian said. “Anyway, I think that's all we're going to get from the phone for now, so should we get back to going to the textile building.”

“Sure,” Ella said. “Besides, this room makes me feel uncomfortable. Let's go.”

With this knowledge in mind, the two of them left the meeting hall and moved through the hallways until they reached the exit.

As soon as they were outside, Marian paused. It was still nice out, but now that felt… wrong wasn't the right word, but it definitely felt inappropriate.

“Our friend is dead and the sun still shines,” she said dryly. “I feel like there's some kind of message there.”

“…That the universe doesn't care about you? That you won't be mourned?” Ella suggested. “Or… are we trying to go more light-hearted?”

“Optimism is what we should be aiming for,” Marian said. “But, there's nothing inherently wrong with choosing to go with morbid humour. Whatever keeps you going.”

Ella laughed softly. “Must be the bear rubbing off on us,” she said. “I mean, damn. Are we already so used to murder that we can laugh about it?”

“I'm not sure now is the best time to debate coping mechanisms,” Marian said. “Maybe see if John is available for fieldwork therapy after the trial.”

“If he's okay with meeting in obscure places, then yeah, all right,” Ella said.

“Still…” Marian said, trailing off. She looked upwards, to the central building, and… paused. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Ella said.

“Look,” Marian said. She pointed upwards “There's the IT room window. You can see the smoke stains.”

“Yeah?” Ella said. “Did we tell you about how we could see the smoke billowing from out here?”

“Now that I think about it, you did,” Marian said. “But still, why have the window open? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to trap the heat and more effectively burn the IT room?”

“I don't have the answer to that question,” Ella said. “But it is strange to think about. Definitely something we should keep in mind.”

“…I don't really like this,” Marian said.

“What?” Ella asked.

“This case,” Marian said. “We've gathered a lot of evidence – way more than last time – but I still don't know who could have done it. I know it's wrong to bring this up, but Shauna was definitely a more easily discovered culprit than this person.”

“No, you're right to make that comparison,” Ella said. “And Shauna and I really tried to be smart about what we did as well, yet I feel like our crime was way easier to uncover than this one. I mean, quite a large number of you had us as strong suspects in your minds before we even set foot on this elevator. But here… I really don't know. It's hard to think of anyone here who could have feasibly been responsible for everything we've uncovered.”

Marian folded her arms and looked to the side, an uneasy expression on her face. “I just really hope debating it will make the truth apparent,” she said. “Or at the least, help us connect all this evidence.”

“There's still the chance that the culprit will reveal themselves before too long,” Ella said. “They might have set up this complex crime, but if they crack under pressure, it doesn't really matter, does it?”

“I suppose not,” Marian said. “Still, just in case, let's make sure we have all the evidence we can.”

“Is that a hint to move on to the textile building?” Ella said.

“You know me too well,” Marian said with a wry smile.

Like Naomi said, the walk to the textile building took a little over five minutes, although Marian didn't keep a strict record of the time. They walked through the entrance and into the foyer, where they found Wyatt standing, looking at his ElectroID.

“Wyatt,” Marian said by way of greeting. “What are you doing here?”

“…Oh, yeah,” Wyatt said. “I thought there might be something useful in this building – there are a lot of flammable fabrics, so maybe something here was used in the fire.”

“I see,” Marian said. “And where's Ben?”

Wyatt looked up. “The top floor,” he said. “…While we were up there, investigating, I forgot to ask him to get me a drink from the vending machine, so he's getting one now.”

“The vending machine, huh,” Ella said. “Didn't know there was one here.”

“Well, there is,” Wyatt said. “Pretty useful since that means we don't have to go all the way back to the kitchen just to get a cold bottle of something.”

“Well, leaving that aside,” Marian said. “I actually have something to ask you.”

“Me?” Wyatt said nervously. “What is it?”

“…Well, it's this,” Marian said, pulling out the threads of fabric from earlier. “I was wondering if you could identify these. I found them on Nina's body and I think they're significant in some way.”

Wyatt took one of the threads and held it up to his face. “Well… it's a kind of synthetic fabric, all right,” he said. He looked even closer. “Maybe…”

“Maybe what?” Ella asked.

Wyatt shook his head. “No, it's not,” he said. “I can't quite recall the name, but it's a modified type of polyester. It's no good for clothing, so you won't find it in this building.”

“Really?” Marian said. “That's disappointing.”

“What could it be used for, then?” Ella asked.

“I'm not an expert on fabrics that extend beyond fashion design,” Wyatt said. “Sorry. I'm not confident enough to say either way.”

“Well, that's fine,” Marian said. “At least we know a little more than we did before.”

“How much _do_ you know, out of question?” Wyatt asked.

“Not as much as I'd like,” Marian said. “The problem is, I'm not sure where to go from here.”

“Again, I don't know what to suggest,” Wyatt said. “Maybe go back to the crime scene or something? There might be—”

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

“ _Attention you bastards! Time is up for the investigation period! Make your way to the courtroom on the fourth floor so we can get the school trial started! Upupu~”_

“Ah,” Ella said. “Already?”

“It's really that time, huh,” Wyatt said. “Another… trial.”

“It seems to be that way,” Marian said. “But, I don't know. I'm not so confident about this one. We really weren't given the chance to think over our evidence like the last time.”

“But… things will still be okay, right?” Wyatt said. “Right?”

Behind him, Ben came out of the stairwell with a concerned look on his face. “Hey,” he said, then noticed Ella and Marian. “Hey to you guys, as well. I just got up there, but I heard the announcement before I could get any drinks.”

“That's fine,” Wyatt said. “I think we have more pressing concerns right now.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. “Like another trial…”

“Well, we should all go,” Marian said. “I know it's awful, but I can only imagine it would be worse if we skipped out.”

“Yeah,” Ella said. “Let's go then.”

Silently, and with a heavy feeling, the four of them left the textile building, and made their way across campus to the hallway on the second floor of the central building. It took a few more minutes after that for everyone else to show up and stand by the elevator doors.

“Is this… really everyone?” Naomi said. “Only thirteen of us?”

“It looks to be that way,” Mark said. “And then, we're going to lose someone else after this trial…”

“It really is worrying how quickly our numbers are dropping,” Melissa said.

“I'm more concerned that we have another killer standing among us right now,” Chelsea said uneasily. “S-someone here… they…” She grimaced, unable to finish saying it.

“Someone here… really did kill Nina…” Ella said dejectedly.

“Shut it,” Chelsea said. “I don't want to hear you talk right now.”

Ella folded her arms and went silent.

“Hey, now isn't really the time to needlessly argue,” Marian said. “We should all be focusing on the trial. For Nina's sake.”

“Yeah, for Nina's sake…” Joel said. “We'll… definitely find out who did this, yeah?”

“We'll try our hardest,” John said blankly. “That's all we can do.”

“And our best _will_ be uncovering Nina's killer,” Dirk said, folding his arms. “We have more than enough evidence to uncover you, whoever you are.”

“I'm glad you're confident,” Marian said. “I think we'll need to spend some time making sense of everything we've found out first before we can accurately accuse someone.”

“Before we execute them…” Charlie said grimly. There were tears in her eyes. “This is just horrible… How could anyone do this, knowing what awaits them?”

“Someone who really wants to get out of here,” Wyatt said. “Maybe… someone like that would have the resolve to go through with killing another.”

“…I don't know if we should think of it that way,” Carlos said. “If we do… would we really have the stomach to see the trial through to the end?”

“I think you may have a point,” Marian said. “For now… let's just focus on uncovering the truth. We can deal with what comes after as it comes.”

“Hey, speaking of which,” Dirk said. “Marian, you were taking notes during the investigation, right?”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “Why?”

“I'm gonna transfer your list of evidence to everyone's ElectroIDs,” Dirk said. “That way, it'll make discussions go easier than last time, where we all only had one or two pieces of evidence each.”

“That's fine,” Marian said. “Go ahead.”

Dirk typed something on his PDA, and everyone's ElectroIDs bleeped with the new information.

“Wow…” Mark said, scrolling through. “That's… a lot to go on.”

“And you still don't have a decisive culprit?” Ben said. “That's… unsettling.”

“We can only try our best to figure it out,” Marian said.

“Hoo hoo… how awful… how despairing…”

Before anyone could say much more, Cammy showed up, looking frightfully dejected for an expressionless puppet. “Someone here is really filled with so much despair… that they are willing to be executed before us…? Horrible… horrible…”

“I was wondering where you'd run off to,” Dirk said. “So, you're partaking in the trial, too?”

“Ha ha… If I can…” Cammy said. “In fact, so long as I can protect everyone and their hopes, then…”

“Upupu… Upupu… BwahahaHAHA!!” Monobear howled, popping up from nowhere. “In what _world_ would I let a second rate _hack_ like you participate?! You're not even human! You can't even feel despair! What is the point?!”

“I… I…” Cammy said.

“Nope! Not hearing it!” Monobear snapped. “If there's one thing Mutual Killing has taught me, it's that I should _never_ let annoying despair-less side characters have any say!”

“B-but… you can't…” Cammy tried to splutter out.

“Watch me!” Monobear said, producing a large soundproof box from seemingly nowhere. He set it on the ground, then without warning, grabbed Cammy and threw him in there, locking the lid shut.

The box rattled once or twice, but no sound came forth. Then, it stopped.

“How ridiculous,” Dirk said.

“Y-yeah,” Naomi said. “Why do that?”

“Eh, I'll let the creep out after we're done here,” Monobear said flippantly. “This school trial is going to proceed without any third party interruptions!” He lifted the box up. “Anywho… You bastards are free to head through to the elevator so we can all reach the courtroom. See you there!”

And then Monobear vanished, taking Cammy's box with him. At the same time, the elevator doors opened up, revealing the elevator inside once more.

“I guess… we have no choice then,” Melissa said. “Let's… get it over with.”

Marian nodded. “This is not something we can walk away from, so let's face it as best we can,” she said. “Together, we can make sure things turn out for the best.”

And with her speech, the other students began to file into the elevator one by one, until the last two, Ben and Wyatt, were on board. Once everyone was there, the doors shut, and the elevator began to descend.

Like before, there was a heavy silence in the air. And like before, there was fear, too. Knowing that someone here was a killer, and knowing what was coming… it wasn't an easy thing to stomach.

The best anyone could hope for was that the facts and evidence would guide them to the truth, and to safety.

Nobody said anything as the elevator rumbled to a stop and the doors pinged open, once more revealing the courtroom. Slowly, everyone filed out, taking each step as if it were their last.

And again, like last time, Monobear sat atop his throne, only this time, Cammy's motionless box was beside him.

“Welcome back, you bastards!” Monobear crooned. “It's been far too long!”

“It's been three days you insufferable sack of shit,” Chelsea said.

“Exactly! Far too long!” Monobear said. “Now, if you could all take your places again, we can officially get this school trial going!”

Dirk folded his arms. “…I see we have a theme going here,” he said, motioning to two of the podiums. The first was Shauna's, which now, like Andrew's, contained her portrait, crossed out with a set of puppet strings. The second was Nina's portrait, her smiling face crossed out by the usual X.

“Well, it'd be just weird for there to be an empty space at this point,” Monobear said. “Plus, you never know when you have to accuse a dead person of something.”

“…Yeah, okay,” Dirk said. “Let's not talk about this ever again.”

“Anyway! Places, everyone!” Monobear said, this time more forcefully. “Before I have to start accusing you bastards of trying to stall this trial.”

“Yeah, we heard you,” Dirk said, taking his place. The others quickly followed his example, and soon enough, everyone was standing at their assigned podium. “Let's get this over with.”

Nina Harrison… Despite the despair, despite the hardships, she'd kept her head held high. An unyielding force of good in the group whose absence could already be felt by everyone in the room… it was nearly impossible to think anyone could have killed her.

But… The reality was as cruel as it was final. Someone here, someone in this courtroom, was responsible for her death.

There was a brief moment where everyone looked around at everyone else with fear, upset, and distrust in their eyes. Despite what everyone wanted to believe, despite everyone's efforts… someone here was a murderer. Someone here was the culprit behind this case.

And here, now, in this moment, everyone could only rely on the evidence before them, and hope that it brought them to the truth, no matter the cost.

That was right… hope that they would push through, that things would be okay.

So, for Nina's sake as well as their own, they would solve this mystery. They would uncover the killer behind this murder, and more importantly… they would survive.

“Upupu…” Monobear giggled. “And with that… let us raise the curtain and officially let the second school trial… begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the trial starts next time after nearly three years since the last one. so let's get excited for that i guess.
> 
> oh, and figuring out what all this evidence means. this case is probably my least favourite one since there were only so many possibilities here, so if anything's unclear beyond deliberate narrative obfuscation, let me know. also, this case probably has the most traditionally danganronpa feel to it. these two points are unrelated, but a funny coincidence nonetheless. regardless, i hope none of that comes across in my writing - i still tried my hardest to make the case as intriguing and engaging as possible, so i hope this is still an enjoyable read.
> 
> but other than that, good luck figuring out the culprit!


	17. Occam's Razor (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the second trial begins!
> 
> also there are now trial minigames to better represent things like the non-stop debates and so on because a) it's fun and b) to better distinguish the trial chapters from the regular ones and c) makes the story Cool and Interactive. is there also an in-universe explanation for the change in formatting? maybe.
> 
> this is also why this chapter is a little on the shorter side, since this is really my first time implementing this format and the first part of the trial has a very specific pacing to it that i didn't want to mess with. i'll probably find a better balance between regular conversations and trial mechanics in future chapters, so please bear with me.
> 
> trial mechanic cheatsheet: the formatting is pretty much directly stolen from kitt_monroe's fic forever despair, with the exception of some minor tweaks and name changes. bold statements are things you disagree with and bold+italics are things you agree with. everything else should be pretty straightforward. i've also included a list of all usable evidence bullets at the start of the chapter for you to refer to (this is now also retroactively present in the first trial, too, but the trial mechanics are from this point onward).
> 
> other than that, have fun trying to work out all the clues along with the characters!

**COURT PREP**

**> Review Evidence:**

**#1 – Monobear File #2**

**The Victim is Nina Harrison, Enhanced Talent Level Video Game Designer.**

**The body was found in the IT room.**

**Time of death is 14:38.**

**The victim has numerous burn wounds of varying severity. There is also evidence of blunt head trauma and bruising located on various parts of the victim's body, particularly in the head and neck regions.**

**#2 – Body Discovery Time**

**Nina was killed at 14:38 and her body was found at around 15:00, giving the crime a window of just over twenty minutes.**

**#3 – John's Account**

**According to John, the killer acted while emotionally heated and was up–close and personal in their method of killing. The murder may have been premeditated, but by no more than a few hours.**

**However, the fire and Nina's burns make it hard to say this for certain.**

**#4 – Burn Wounds**

**Nina's body is covered in countless burns, yet despite the fire damage, they do not seem to be as severe as they should be.**

**#5 – Blue Threads**

**There are several tiny blue threads on the back of Nina's neck which appear to be made out of a synthetic fabric. These are not located anywhere else on the body or in the surrounding area.**

**#6 – Glass Shards**

**There are shards of shattered glass around Nina's body. The glass is see–through, but one side has a faint stain on it.**

**#7 – Head Position**

**Nina's head is partially inside the computer she was working at. The positioning indicates that her head fell into the computer with a great amount of force.**

**#8 – Facial Bruising**

**There are numerous bruises all along the right side of Nina's face that correspond to where she hit the computer. The bruises are more violent than would be expected.**

**#9 – Neck Bruising**

**There is a red line across Nina's windpipe lined with a large number of small bruises. Curiously, this was omitted from the Monobear File.**

**#10 – Head Wound**

**There is a large, deep cut on the top of Nina's head. Despite the blood on the rest of her body being dry, the cut is still wet with blood.**

**#11 – Chelsea's Account**

**Chelsea was with Nina in the IT room until around 14:30, after which she left with Joel to return to the cafeteria.**

**Both of them needed to use the bathroom so they decided that one should keep watch while the other went as a precautionary measure. Chelsea went to the bathroom first while Joel kept watch, and then Joel went to the bathroom with Chelsea keeping watch maybe five minutes after. Joel was in the bathroom for around ten minutes and left once he and Chelsea could smell smoke coming from the IT room at approximately 14:45.**

**The two of them rushed back up to the IT room and five minutes later Charlie showed up. It took another five minutes for them to get into the IT room and subsequently find Nina's body.**

**Chelsea's account matches with Joel's**

**#12 – Blocked Door**

**A bookshelf had been moved in front of the IT room door in order to block it off. Joel, Chelsea, and Charlie pushed it out of the way in order to gain access to the burning IT room and discover Nina's body.**

**#13 – Sprinkler System**

**The sprinkler system did not activate during the fire – Joel had to manually turn it on to gain access to the IT room. Upon closer inspection, the activity log on the control panel reveals that the sprinkler system was disabled at 14:31 and manually reactivated at 14:57.**

**#14 – Loud Noise**

**There were two loud thud noises heard prior to the investigation – the first was heard just before the group in the cafeteria began to smell smoke, and the second was heard a few minutes before the body discovery announcement played.**

**#15 – Fire Damage**

**Despite the apparent intensity of the fire, there is not actually much substantial damage done to the IT room.**

**#16 – State Of Desk**

**There are signs of severe fire damage underneath Nina's desk, but nothing above the desk appears to have been damaged by the fire.**

**#17 – Locked Room**

**It appears the culprit made some kind of effort to make the crime scene look like a locked room.**

**#18 – Crawlspace**

**There is a crawlspace in the wall between the IT room and the adjacent classroom.**

**#19 – Bookcase**

**The bookcase in the hallway outside the IT room was moved in front of the door to block access to the room. Moving it caused the books to slide out of position – the lighter ones lean to the left, while the heavier ones lean to the right.**

**#20 – IT Room Door**

**When Charlie, Chelsea, and Joel moved the bookcase, the IT room door was still open behind it.**

**#21 – Headband**

**There is a light pink headband hidden between two books. There is a bloodstain on it.**

**#22 – Matchbox**

**There is a small matchbox hidden between two books.**

**#23 – Hallway Door**

**There is a door in the hallway between the IT room and the stairs down to the second floor with a bloody handprint on it. The door is locked.**

**#24 – Wyatt and Ben's Account**

**Wyatt and Ben were together in the textile building during the murder.**

**#25 – Naomi's Account**

**Naomi was in the skate park on her own during the murder. Her alibi cannot be confirmed.**

**#26 – Campus Distance**

**It would take someone approximately five minutes to travel from the central building to the skate park, and approximately ten to travel to the southern gates. A further five minutes would be added if the person was travelling from the IT room.**

**#27 – Joel's Account**

**Joel left Nina in the IT room in order to take Chelsea back to the cafeteria. They then stopped for a bathroom break, taking turns to guard the bathroom as the other used it. Joel kept watch while Chelsea used the bathroom first, then she kept watch as he used the bathroom until the smell of smoke brought him out. The two of them returned to the IT room together. He is uncertain of how much time passed.**

**Joel's account matches with Chelsea's.**

**#28 – Cammy's Account**

**Cammy went to tell Ben and Wyatt about the murder first, because the textile building is further from the central building than the skate park, then stopped by the skate park to tell Naomi. All of them went up to the IT room together.**

**#29 – Mark's Account**

**Chelsea went into the kitchen to get a drink a few minutes before Joel took her to see Nina.**

**#30 – Vending Machine**

**The vending machine in the kitchen is nearly out of glass Coke bottles.**

**#31 – Telephone Timer**

**The countdown on the phone stopped at 35:18:12, which matches Nina's time of death.**

**#32 – Open Window**

**The IT room external window was left open during the fire. Both Ella and Dirk saw the smoke from outside the central building.**

**#33 – Wyatt's Analysis**

**According to Wyatt, the threads of fabric are a modified type of polyester that isn't suitable for clothing. It is not found in the textile building.**

**> Finish Prep.**

**SCHOOL TRIAL: START!**

**-**

“Now then,” Monobear said. “Before we begin, let's quickly review the rules of the school trial in case any of you bastards managed to forget.”

“Like, literally nobody here would forget that, but okay, whatever,” Dirk said, folding his arms.

“Okay then!” Monobear chirped. “During the school trial, you bastards will use the evidence you have gathered to debate amongst yourselves and try to deduce who the culprit is.”

“Once a verdict has been reached,” Monobear continued, “then we will call for a vote!”

“Why are we doing this,” Wyatt said. “You've explained this to us before, like twice already.”

“If you bastards vote for and correctly identify the true culprit, then they will be punished, and the rest of you bastards will be allowed to continue your School Life of Mutual Killing,” Monobear explained. “But, if you bastards vote for the _wrong_ person…”

“…Then I'll punish everybody here _except_ for the culprit!” Monobear said with a laugh. “And that culprit will be allowed to walk free! Are we all clear?”

“We've been pretty clear since you started this whole nightmarish affair,” Marian said sternly. “Anyway, if you have nothing relevant to say, please remain quiet.”

“Upupu…” Monobear giggled. “And what if I don't feel like it? What if I want to participate in this trial alongside the rest of you bastards?” He tilted his head. “Sure, I already know exactly who did it and precisely how they did it, but I'm only an honest bear outside of the courtroom!”

“…Okay, no,” Marian said. “I'm not letting you pervert the course of justice any more than this whole ordeal already is.”

Monobear snickered. “…You said 'pervert',” he said.

Marian rolled her eyes. “You're just wasting time at this point,” she said. “Now, please, be quiet and let us work this out.”

“…Okay!” Monobear said. “I was getting bored anyway. And besides, a judge has to remain impartial, right?” When nobody responded, he clapped his paws together. “In that case, let's begin to solve the murder of our dearly departed ETL Video Game Designer, Nina Harrison.”

“…Thank you,” Marian said. She turned to face the rest of the courtroom. “All right. Does anyone have a particular starting point they'd like us to go from? We have a lot of evidence to work through this time, and I'd rather start with something everyone's more confident in discussing.”

“Well… Maybe we could start with the state of Nina's body?” Mark offered.

“Or… how about the motive?” Naomi said. “I mean… the killer's gotta have a reason for doing this, right?”

“These seem like reasonable places to start the debate,” Marian said. “In that case, let's think about—”

“Don't waste your time.”

Marian looked across the courtroom to the source of the interruption. “Chelsea? Something you'd like to say?”

“Well… pretty much, yeah,” Chelsea said, folding her arms. “We don't need to bother talking about all the small pieces of evidence when the culprit's already pretty goddamn obvious!”

“…Are they really, now,” Dirk said flatly.

“Of fucking course!” Chelsea said, more forcefully. “I mean, it's gotta be Ella!”

“E-Ella?” Carlos said. “How did you figure that one out?”

“It's pretty obvious!” Chelsea said. “I mean, of course someone who's already killed once would kill again!”

“An accusation so soon?” Naomi said. “Really?”

“And I take it you have evidence supporting your accusation?” Marian said coolly.

“Fucking yeah I do!” Chelsea said.

“Then let's hear it,” Marian said. “What evidence do you have that proves Ella is the culprit?”

“Okay then, listen up!” Chelsea said. “I'll prove to you all _right now_ that Ella's the one who did this!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Monobear File #2, Loud Noise, Hallway Door**

Marian: Okay, Chelsea. We're listening. What evidence proves that Ella is the one who killed Nina?

Chelsea: Well, it's pretty obvious!

Chelsea: Ella's _**already killed before**_ , so obviously she'd have the experience and confidence to do it a second time!

Dirk: And that's the basis of your argument? Needless conjecture based on past actions?

Chelsea: Well, obviously not!

Chelsea: There are also pretty clear **similarities between the two murder cases**!

Naomi: Similarities…?

Chelsea: Yeah! **Both times, the killer did the killing in the IT room**! That can't just be a coincidence!

John: While it is a rather unfortunate coincidence… It's **not conclusive enough** to tie both cases together.

Chelsea: Actually, it is!

Chelsea: Ella's _**already committed a crime**_ in the IT room…

Chelsea: So it makes sense to assume she's **pretty damn acquainted** with the place!

Dirk: And your point is…?

Chelsea: Since she already knows the crime scene so well, she could've **easily sneaked into** the IT room…

Chelsea: …And murdered Nina without any problems!

Chelsea: There you have it! Proof that Ella's the culprit behind this case!

Ella: …

**Answer: Monobear File #2 → “easily sneaked into”**

Marian: You're wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Chelsea,” Marian said. “Your argument is all well and good, but…”

“But?” Chelsea challenged. “But what?!”

“…The Monobear File proves otherwise,” Marian explained.

“What? How?!” Chelsea demanded.

“Take a closer look at the time of death,” Marian said. “Nina was killed at two-thirty-eight.”

“Yeah? What about it?” Chelsea said.

“Two-thirty-eight,” Marian said. “At this time, Ella's restrictions were still in effect.”

“Huh?” Chelsea said. “That still doesn't prove anything.”

“Yes, it does,” Marian said. “Ella's restrictions mean she can't enter the central building without permission, except if the body discovery announcement plays.”

“Okay…?”

“And, since those of us who'd made this decision were all together in the cafeteria until the body discovery announcement, and we didn't see Ella…” Marian said. “That would mean she would have been punished by Monobear for entering the central building before she'd even have the chance to kill Nina.”

“That's… definitely true, right?” Naomi asked.

“Upupu… certainly so!” Monobear said with a laugh. “If Miss ETL Sound Engineer tried to enter the central building without permission _or_ an escort, and there's not been a body discovery announcement, then she'd be executed to pieces before she could even say _despair_!”

“…Thank you for clarifying, Monobear,” Marian said uneasily.

“Upupu! I always aim to be the most helpful headmaster I can be!” Monobear said.

“Moving on,” Marian said. “So, you can clearly see why it's impossible for Ella to be the culprit.”

“Bullshit!” Chelsea snapped. “There's still a way she can be responsible!”

“No, there really isn't,” Dirk said critically.

“Let's just hear her out,” Marian said. “We won't get to the truth if we don't deal with these misconceptions.” She faced Chelsea. “So then, Chelsea, what is this other way Ella could be the one behind the crime?”

“That's easy,” Chelsea said. “She made someone else do the deed for her, just like she did Shauna.”

“That's… really not what happened there,” Mark said. “But, if that's what you're going with…”

“So then, who is the person Ella supposedly coerced into killing on her behalf?” Marian said critically.

“Well, that's pretty damn obvious!” Chelsea said. Dramatically, she pointed across the courtroom. “The only person that could do this… is you! Dirk!”

Dirk rolled his eyes. “Oh, joy,” he said. “It seems the accusation falls on me now.”

“I-I'm not saying that!” Chelsea said. “Ella's still the culprit! You're just, like, her murder weapon!”

“So what,” Dirk said. “I'm reduced to the role of a mere tool here? Is that what you're saying?”

“Yawn,” Monobear said loudly. “Such a tired cliché… even the thought of it makes me nauseous!”

“Pretty much,” Chelsea said. “Something wrong with that?”

“Other than the obvious? That by this logic, I'd be the culprit?” Dirk said. “Yeah. There's also the fact that I clearly didn't do it.”

“Okay, but where's your proof!” Chelsea shouted. “It's not impossible to assume that you acted out her plans on her behalf!”

“God, fine, whatever,” Dirk said. “Let me prove it to you so we can get on with this.”

-

[Locked Room / Telephone Timer / **Open Window** / John's Account]

Dirk: Here's your proof.

-

“Here,” Dirk said. “If I was the killer, I wouldn't be able to tell you one specific fact.”

“Huh? What fact?!” Chelsea said defensively.

“The fact that the IT room's external window was open during the fire,” Dirk said. “And from outside the central building, you could see the cloud of smoke rise.”

“That doesn't prove anything!” Chelsea said. “You could've deliberately opened the window yourself, then gone back outside to watch the smoke rise!”

“Yeah, but that's not the only thing,” Dirk said. “There's another reason why I wouldn't be able to see the smoke come out of the window if I'd been the culprit.”

“And? What is that?” Chelsea asked.

-

[Blue Threads / **Campus Distance** / Mark's Account / Fire Damage]

Dirk: This should prove it.

-

“Naomi,” Dirk said.

“Me?” Naomi said.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “I need you to tell me something.”

“Well… okay then,” Naomi said. “What is it?”

“How long would it take someone to get from the IT room to outside the central building, roughly as far away as the skate park,” Dirk said, a question in all but intonation.

“Oh! I know that!” Naomi said enthusiastically. “It takes five minutes to get to the skate park from the central building, and another five minutes to get from the IT room to outside! So, I'd say maybe ten minutes total!”

“And there you have it,” Dirk said. “And, as we all know that the fire started some time after Nina's death and was extinguished just before three, the fire would already be out before I'd get back outside.”

Chelsea frowned. “Sorry, that doesn't cut it,” she said. “That excuse is pretty flimsy and weak… plus, you're deliberately being vague about the fire time!”

“I am?” Dirk said. He raised one eyebrow.

“Pretty much, yeah!” Chelsea said. “If we actually bring in the details about the fire, it becomes pretty damn clear that you had more than enough time!”

“Fine,” Marian said. “Let's hear this argument, too.”

“This trial really isn't going anywhere fast…” John said uneasily.

“Still, it's good to eliminate this possibility beyond all doubt,” Marian said. “We won't be able to get to the truth until everyone's on the same page. So let's see what's convincing Chelsea of this line of argument.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Sprinkler System, Body Discovery Time, Fire Damage**

Chelsea: Dirk could have easily managed to get back outside _**before the fire extinguished**_!

Melissa: Could he have really…?

Carlos: Yeah, I'm not seeing how this is possible…

Chelsea: Oh my God, you seriously don't see how?!

Marian: That's what we're waiting on _you_ to tell us, Chelsea.

Chelsea: Well, it's pretty fucking obvious if you ask me!

Chelsea: Nina **died around two-forty** …

Chelsea: …And Joel didn't extinguish the fire until _**around three**_!

Dirk: So?

Chelsea: So, if you haven't noticed…

Chelsea: That means the fire could have easily been going for _**twenty minutes**_!

Chelsea: Which means you had more than enough time to get out of the building while the IT room was **still burning up**!

Dirk: So that's your logic here.

Chelsea: Can you prove otherwise?!

Ella: W-well…

Chelsea: Can both of you give **the exact time** you saw the smoke start to come out of the window?!

Dirk: Chelsea, this is absurd.

Chelsea: Because if not, then _**you have no defence**_! You can't prove that you weren't the one to start the fire and kill Nina!

John: Have you quite finished…?

**Answer: Fire Damage → “still burning up”**

Dirk: You have that wrong.

**BREAK!**

-

“Really?” Dirk said. “You really think the fire was going for twenty minutes?”

“I don't see any reason why that isn't right!” Chelsea snapped back.

“You _did_ set foot into the IT room during investigation, didn't you?” Dirk asked.

“Y-yeah,” Chelsea said. “But what's the problem there?!”

“And, I assume you took note of the state of the IT room?” Dirk said.

“I…” Chelsea said. “It was burned up! There's no need to get more detailed than that!”

“Ah,” Marian said. “I see what you're getting at.”

“What?!” Chelsea said. “Getting at what?!”

“You know,” Dirk said. “For being subjected to a twenty-minute fire, the IT room was remarkably unburned, no?”

“I-it was?!” Chelsea said. “Because it looked pretty damn burned up to me!”

“You mean, soot-covered walls and a slightly singed floor constitute as burned up?” Dirk said. He smirked. “Be glad you're not the ETL Pyrotechnic.”

“Don't be smug,” Marian urged.

“S-so what are you saying?!” Chelsea said.

Dirk sighed. “If a fire of that intensity had been going for twenty minutes, the IT room would pretty much be burned to a crisp,” he explained. “Ergo, the fire obviously didn't go on for that long.”

“T-that's…!” Chelsea exclaimed defensively.

“It's the truth is what it is,” Dirk said. He glanced down at his PDA, then back to Chelsea. “Look, you need to drop whatever personal grudge you have against Ella and look at the facts. Otherwise, you're just gonna get us all killed.”

“I-I…” Chelsea said.

“If you have no means of proving this otherwise, then I'd suggest you stop arguing this point of yours,” Dirk said. “Look, Chelsea, you're wrong. It's that simple.”

“B-but… Ella, she… she's gotta…” Chelsea said. “It has to be her, right? Otherwise… It's definitely one of us… And I… I don't wanna think about that possibility.”

“Ah,” John said. “So that's what this is about. You so desperately want the culprit to be Ella so you don't have to cast suspicion on any of your friends.”

“Sh-shut up,” Chelsea said.

“I'm not wrong, though, am I?” John said.

“N-no…” Chelsea admitted. “I just… I don't want one of my friends to turn out to betray us all by being a killer… I'd rather it was someone who'd already done that so it hurts less. I don't… wanna hate someone else.”

“Chelsea,” Marian said. “I… I understand how you feel, truly. But we won't get to the truth – and more importantly, survive – if we don't and suspect our friends. That's the only way we can go forward.”

Chelsea looked away. “…”

“So please,” Marian said. “Help us uncover the truth, no matter how much it hurts to do so. A lie, even a comforting one, will only help you for so long. We need to do this. Please.”

“F-fine…” Chelsea said. She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. “I'll… I'll help find out whoever… who really did this.”

“Thank you,” Marian said, more warmly.

“And, Ella…” Chelsea said.

“Yes?” Ella said.

“I-I'm sorry,” Chelsea said uneasily. “I… I shouldn't have accused you like that. It was stupid and didn't do anything but delay the trial and upset everyone in the process.”

“I – it's fine,” Ella said. “I forgive you, Chelsea. I understand where you're coming from and why you'd want the killer to be me – having to deal with the betrayal from one of your friends… it's the worst thing.” She looked away wistfully. “So in that case… let's proceed with the trial and make sure that this betrayal is the last.”

“Y-yeah,” Chelsea said. “You're right.” She breathed deeply and let a determined expression take over. “So let's do this! Let's find out who really did it!”

“I'm glad you're on the same page again, Chelsea,” Marian said. “So in that case, let me pose my original question once again: does anyone have a starting point they'd like us to go from?”

“Hm,” Melissa said. “Mark mentioned discussing Nina's body earlier… that feels like a good place to start unravelling this mystery from.”

“Okay,” Marian said. “Does anyone else agree?”

“I do,” Mark said. He laughed nervously. “I mean, I can't exactly go against my original idea, can I?”

“It sounds reasonable enough,” Ella said.

“Hey,” Joel said. “I trust the author to know what's a good starting point.”

Melissa blushed. “T-thanks,” she said.

“All right then,” Marian said. “In that case, let us start our discussion with the state of Nina's body. If we solidify our understanding there, we have a good base to build the rest of the case on.”

“So… what are we exactly talking about?” Carlos asked.

“Whatever's on your mind,” Marian said. “If we air out our ideas, maybe something new will come to light.”

“Nina's body…” Naomi said. “Yep! That definitely sounds like there's something there to uncover! Let's see what we can find out!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Facial Bruising, Head Wound, Neck Bruising, Burn Wounds, Head Position**

Melissa: So, Nina's body…

Melissa: …Could there be **something suspicious** about it?

Carlos: …I don't know.

Carlos: I mean, all Nina's injuries seem _**pretty straightforward**_ , right?

Carlos: Like, sure, she has **a lot of injuries** …

Carlos: But nothing's too out of place, is it?

John: I'd say **no** …

John: Her **head wound** makes sense…

John: As does her **facial bruising**.

Marian: Her **neck bruising** , while unexplained, doesn't raise any flags, either.

Naomi: Her **burn wounds** make sense too, I guess.

Joel: I'd say so…

Joel: She was caught in that fire, so obviously she'd get burned up…

Mark: Are there any other injuries we're forgetting?

Marian: No, I think that does it.

Charlie: The only weird thing, I think…

Charlie: …Is that we're never told **which injury** is the cause of death.

Marian: …You're right.

Wyatt: Huh. How'd we miss that before?

John: I assume Monobear deliberately listed all those injuries in the Monobear File _**to confuse us**_ …

Joel: He'd really do that? Give out a **misleading** Monobear File?

Monobear: _**Upupu**_ …

Ella: Hm.

Ella: Maybe there's a way for us to figure it out?

Chelsea: What, which one's the cause of death?

Ella: Maybe not specifically that…

Ella: But maybe we can work out which injury _**isn't the cause of death**_.

Ben: But, can we really find something like that out?

Ben: Sure, we can guess, but…

Ben: Any one of those injuries is _**nasty enough to kill her**_!

Naomi: I agree…

Naomi: Ugh! This is horrible!

Naomi: Monobear! Why won't you give us **a straight answer**!

Monobear: **Upupu** …

**Answer: Burn wounds → “** _**isn't the cause of death** _ **”**

Melissa: I agree with you!

**BREAK!**

-

“Actually,” Melissa said. “I think there is one injury we can rule out as the cause of death.”

“You do?” Ella said. “I had a hunch, but… I'm not sure.”

“Which one?” Naomi asked. “They all seem like they could fit, but there's one that doesn't?”

“Yes,” Melissa said. “Her burn wounds.”

“Huh? Burn wounds?” Wyatt said. “Weird to think that… since aren't they all over her body?”

“Yes, they are,” Melissa said. “But they clearly can't be the cause of death.”

“Huh?” Chelsea said. “Why's that?”

“It's pretty simple if you think about it,” Melissa said. “It's because of the circumstances behind the burn wounds.”

“And they are…?” Wyatt asked sceptically.

“Ah, yes,” Melissa said. “Let me explain.”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

M E A T F D R R E R U

**Answer: AFTER MURDER**

Melissa: This makes sense of it!

**BREAK!**

-

“…It's because Nina couldn't have gotten those burn wounds until after the murder,” Melissa said.

“Huh? Really?” Chelsea said.

“Yes,” Melissa said. “Even though there are a lot of them, they aren't that severe. And, if you take into account our discussion about how long the fire could have been burning for… there's no logical way that Nina burned to death.”

“So our accusatory tangent did have a purpose, after all,” John said wryly.

“But more importantly, she's right,” Ella said. “Those burn wounds are too mild if the fire had been going since the time of death, and since the fire wasn't going long enough to be too severe, it stands that the fire had to have been started some time after Nina was already dead.”

“And thus, we rule out one cause of death,” Marian said.

“Only like three more to go…” Wyatt said dryly. He then shrugged. “Hey. Those aren't bad odds – I wouldn't be afraid to guess at this point.”

“…I'd rather have all the facts than guess blindly,” Marian said critically.

“Still,” Ben said. “Can we narrow down the cause of death any further? Or have we hit a dead end?”

“Discussing the other injuries in detail may yield some promising results,” John said. “But, it isn't a guarantee.”

“I wonder, though,” Naomi said. “Is the cause of death even that relevant? I mean, figuring out _who_ did it's a little more important than _how_ , wouldn't you say?”

“Ultimately, yes,” Marian said. “But we won't be able to adequately solve one without also solving the other. Plus, if we unravel a clue enough, it may lead us back to the culprit.”

“Well, okay then!” Naomi said. “That makes sense! So, where are we going here?”

“I think John has a point,” Marian said. “There may be something else we can eliminate as the cause of death.”

“Really?” Naomi said. “What?”

“…Let's just discuss it and find out for sure,” Marian said.

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Monobear File #2, Head Wound, Head Position, Facial Bruising, Neck Bruising**

Ben: Eliminating another cause of death…

Ben: Can we really do that?

John: I'm fairly confident that's the case.

Marian: So, let's review Nina's other injuries again.

Marian: First, her **facial bruising**.

Chelsea: So, can we like prove _ **her facial bruising didn't kill her**_?

Carlos: They looked pretty bad, so… _**maybe they did**_?

Marian: Then, we have her **neck bruising**.

Mark: Maybe _**her neck bruising isn't the cause of death**_?

Melissa: Looking at it, though, perhaps _**the neck bruising really did kill her**_ …

Marian: And finally, her **head wound**.

Joel: It's pretty awful… but maybe _**the head wound didn't finish her off**_?

Wyatt: You really think that? **A nasty head injury** like that…

Wyatt: I'd pretty much say that confirms _**her head wound killed her**_.

Charlie: Maybe _**we really can't tell**_ …

Dirk: No, there's definitely something here we can cross off the list.

**Answer: “A nasty head injury” → “** _**her facial bruising didn't kill her** _ **”**

Naomi: That's totally right!

**BREAK!**

-

“Yeah! We can totally prove which other injury didn't kill her!” Naomi said.

“Which one?” Wyatt asked.

“Her facial bruising!” Naomi said.

“The ones she got from hitting her head against the computer, right?” Mark said.

Naomi nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “If hitting her head against the computer really had killed her, I feel like there definitely would have been a pretty nasty wound as well, since a few bruises really aren't enough to kill someone, you know?”

“Well, she does have a head injury already…” Joel said. “So maybe it really did happen this way?”

“No, I wouldn't say so,” Marian said. “The right side of her head hit the computer – her head injury is on the left side of her head, at the back.”

“If anything,” Mark said. “Wouldn't it make sense that she got the bruises by falling into the computer after being hit on the head?”

“That, at least, seems to make sense,” Melissa said uncertainly.

“That's probably not exactly right, either,” Marian said. “There's something about the bruising that doesn't make that possible.”

“And what's that?” Carlos asked.

-

[There aren't enough bruises / **The bruises are too severe** / The bruises were already there]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“The bruises are too severe,” Marian said.

“What do you mean?” Carlos said.

“I mean, if Nina had only fallen into the computer once after being hit on the head, the bruises wouldn't be as numerous or as prominent as they are,” Marian said. “She may have had some light bruising, but nothing like what's actually there.”

“So, what are you saying?” Wyatt said.

“I'm saying that the culprit must have forcefully slammed her head against the computer several times,” Marian said. “That's the only way that Nina could have sustained those bruises—”

“No! You're wrong!”

“Chelsea?” Marian said, looking over at the other girl. “What do you mean?”

“Sure, it's possible that Nina was bruised up from having her head slammed into the computer, but it's not the only way!” Chelsea said. “It could be due to another reason entirely!”

-

**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

**Evidence Blades: Body Discovery Time, Glass Shards, Head Position**

Chelsea: Like, I get that your theory makes sense…

Chelsea: But that doesn't mean it's true!

Chelsea: There's another explanation for the bruising…

Chelsea: And that's that Nina fought back!

**ADVANCE!**

Marian: So, you're arguing that Nina sustained the bruising as a result of a struggle.

Marian: Could you explain your reasoning behind this assumption?

Chelsea: Of course I can!

Chelsea: The theory you're trying to push is made of assumptions!

Chelsea: Assuming that the culprit had the time to slam her head like that…

Chelsea: Assuming that the culprit was physically capable…

Chelsea: Assuming that this was a sudden attack…

Chelsea: And assuming that Nina didn't try to fight back!

Chelsea: It's not like **my arguments are wrong** , are they?!

Chelsea: And it's not like you have any **proof that Nina didn't get bruised up from fighting back**!

Chelsea: So because of that…

Chelsea: There's no way that what you're saying is the absolute truth!

**Answer: Head Position → “proof that Nina didn't get bruised up from fighting back”**

Marian: Your claims are all wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Actually, Chelsea, there's substantial proof that Nina didn't obtain the bruises as the result of a struggle,” Marian said.

“Huh? Really?” Chelsea said.

“Yes,” Marian said. “If you think back to how her head was positioned, it should become clear why she wasn't bruised due to a struggle.”

“…Wasn't her head in the computer?” Naomi said. “Like, way in the monitor?”

“Exactly,” Marian said. “That's not something that happens as a result of falling onto the computer just once.”

“Wait, so…” Chelsea said. “You're saying Nina got bruised up because the culprit kept slamming her head into the computer?! J-Jesus…!”

“H-how could someone do that…?” Joel said. “Like… How could you hate Nina that much…?”

“Mm,” John said. “It may not be that the culprit hated Nina, but more that they did it out of necessity.”

“Oh?” Melissa said. “What do you mean by that?”

“Quite simple,” John said. “We all know that the culprit had a short window of time to commit the murder – they had to make sure that Nina was absolutely dead _and_ leave the crime scene before Joel returned with the next person.”

“So, that's why all the brutal wounds?” Carlos said.

“Precisely,” John said. “You don't know how long you have, so you have to kill Nina beyond any doubt. That's… probably what the culprit was thinking at the time.”

“S-someone here… is really that cruel?” Charlie said. “I-I…”

“Not cruel, but rather desperate,” John said. “It would also explain something else.”

“What?” Mark said.

“The reason why we can't precisely identify the cause of death,” John said.

-

[The culprit deliberately obscured the cause of death / The cause of death is something else entirely / **Either injury could be the cause of death** ]

John: This proves it!

-

“It's because both injuries were inflicted by the culprit to try and be the cause of death,” John said. “I don't think they were trying to make Nina suffer: I think they were just trying to make sure they really did deal the fatal blow.”

“Wait,” Wyatt said. “So there's no way to find out which injury killed her?”

“I'd say no,” John said. “I don't think the culprit themselves knows which one killed her – either one could have done it.”

“So, we have a head wound and some neck bruising,” Ben said. “Sorry if this sounds rude, but could we clarify what cause of death each injury would present?”

“Sure, John said. “The head wound can be boiled down to a trauma-related injury.”

“It's likely she was hit with some kind of object,” Marian said. “It would explain the deep cut there as well.”

“Okay,” Ben said. He folded his arms and frowned. “So, the neck bruising?”

“You know,” Dirk said. “This discussion would go a lot faster if you'd actually investigated.”

“Hey,” Wyatt said. “Don't criticise us like that!”

“Anyway,” Dirk said. “The neck bruising pretty obviously reveals a specific cause of death.”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

N U R A O L A N T I T G S

**Answer: STRANGULATION**

Dirk: Here's the answer.

**BREAK!**

-

“It's strangulation,” Dirk said.

“H-huh?” Wyatt said. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Dirk said flatly. “If you look at the bruising on Nina's neck, and the red line, it only makes sense that the culprit strangled her.”

“Jesus,” Mark said, grimacing.

“So strangulation, and being hit over the head with an object,” Melissa said. “No wonder we can't tell the cause of death from here.”

“We might be able to figure something else out, though,” Marian said. “Neither of those two wounds could have been inflicted with the culprit's bare hands, so we can still find out what the culprit used.”

“Find out the murder weapon?” Ella said. “Yeah, we never did uncover that. Let's see if we can find anything out.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Head Wound, Neck Bruising, Blue Threads, Loud Noise, Telephone Timer**

Marian: Both strangulation and head trauma…

Marian: …There must be a **murder weapon** for each injury.

Joel: But the problem is… _**nobody found anything**_ that could work as a weapon, right?

Melissa: Well, maybe not a traditional murder weapon…

Melissa: There may be **something we're overlooking** , however.

Carlos: Like what, though?

Mark: It might be _ **a disguised object**_ …

Mark: Or something the killer has _**on their person**_ …

Mark: Or even something that's _**still on Nina's body**_ …

Chelsea: So, in other words, **no leads**.

Wyatt: Seems that way.

Wyatt: Guess _ **there really isn't anything**_ we can say is related to the murder weapon after all…

**Answer: Blue Threads → “** _**still on Nina's body** _ **”**

Ella: You have that right!

**BREAK!**

-

“I think you may be onto something, Mark,” Ella said. “There might be something on Nina's body we can confirm is related to a murder weapon.”

“Really?” Mark said. “What are you thinking?”

“…The blue threads of fabric on the back of her neck,” Ella said.

“T-those…?” Wyatt said. “What are you thinking their significance is?”

“Well, now that we know Nina was strangled at some point,” Ella said. “It makes sense that the threads came off a larger strip of the same kind of fabric that was used to strangle her with.”

“That probably makes sense,” Wyatt said. “But again, the problem is I don't think anyone found anything that matched that description during the investigation.”

Joel folded his arms and frowned. “Man, why are these things so difficult?” he said.

“We're in a life-or-death game,” Dirk said. “The culprit will stop at nothing to make sure they survive.”

“Okay,” Carlos said. “So, we have a strip of blue fabric used to strangle Nina with… what about her head wound?”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. She glared critically at Ella. “It's all fine and dandy coming up with the fabric, but unless you have something to do with the head injury, it's useless information.”

“Hm,” Ella said. “There might be something.”

-

[Matchbox / **Glass Shards** / Bookcase]

Ella: This proves it!

-

“Well, what about the glass shards?” Ella suggested. “The ones that were scattered around the floor near Nina's body.”

“Those, huh,” John said. “Those make sense.”

“Yeah,” Marian said. “If you think about the deep cut on Nina's head, a glass weapon seems like the most reasonable explanation behind it.”

“Again, though,” Wyatt said. “We don't know what that could be.”

“We really don't have any concrete leads?!” Naomi said. “That's… really bad. Now what?!”

“If we've reached a dead end in this discussion for now, let's talk about something else,” Marian said.

“I fear this may bring us to a dead end as well,” Melissa said. “But… how about the motive?”

“The motive?” Joel asked.

“Ah, yes,” Marian said. “Monobear's offer of a free phone call at the price of committing a murder within a forty-eight hour deadline.”

“And more importantly, a motive someone bought into,” Dirk said.

“There are quite a few things to figure out here,” Marian said. “Who made the call, why they did it, and how it connects to the murder case.”

“Plus, what the contents of the call were,” Dirk said.

“I don't think we'll get that information so easily,” Marian said. “That all depends on who made the call.”

“Well, for starters,” Carlos said. “At least we can say that the culprit made the call, right?”

“…Actually, things may not be that simple,” Ella said uneasily.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Carlos said.

“…I have a theory,” Ella said. “It's not pleasant, but please let me explain it before we start arguing over it.”

“Well… Okay, then,” Carlos said.

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Locked Room, Fire Damage, Telephone Timer, Chelsea's Account, Joel's Account**

Mark: So, Ella, what's your theory?

Mark: I'm guessing it has to do with the **motive** , right?

Mark: Or **the culprit**?

Mark: Or **both**?

Ella: …

Ella: If you could let me talk, I could explain.

Mark: Sorry…!

Ella: Anyway.

Ella: My theory goes like this…

Ella: **The culprit is not the one who used the phone**.

Ben: Huh.

Ben: Wait… What?!

Ben: That doesn't make any sense!

Marian: To an extent, I think it does.

Marian: Ella, if you could continue.

Ben: Y-yeah!

Ben: Because if it **wasn't the culprit** … then who was it?!

Ella: You really won't like this, but…

Ella: … _ **Nina**_.

Joel: That makes even less sense!

Joel: Because… because…!

Chelsea: You're telling us you think Nina was gonna try and kill?!

Chelsea: Because that's a pretty heavy accusation to throw around, even for you.

Chelsea: Is there even _**something that connects Nina to the motive**_? Like, at all?

Ben: There… there can't be, right?

Mark: Yeah, sorry.

Mark: This just _**doesn't make sense**_.

**Answer: Telephone Timer → “** _**something that connects Nina to the motive** _ **”**

Carlos: That's right!

**BREAK!**

-

“It's… the timer, right?” Carlos said. “That's why you think Nina used the phone, isn't it?”

“Yes…” Ella said.

“Huh?” Chelsea said. “What the hell do you mean?!”

“It's… in the evidence,” Carlos said. “The timer stopped at the exact moment of Nina's death.”

“But… didn't Monobear say it would stop when a murder happened?” Joel said. “So… this isn't making sense.”

“I'm not too sold myself, but I think it does,” Carlos said. “Monobear also made it clear that the countdown would stop when you died.”

“In his exact words, at the forfeit of a life,” Ella said. “He never specified that it had to be the caller's murder victim.”

“I see where you're going,” Dirk said. Then, “Monobear. Answer me.”

“Uwah?” Monobear said, snapping awake from a nap he was taking. “Does one of my adorable students want to talk to me?”

“Yes,” Dirk said. “No bullshit, I just want one question answered.”

“Then ask away, you bastard!” Monobear said. “This bear is honest and straight to the point!”

“If the caller were to die before the timer reached zero,” Dirk said. “Would the timer stop at the moment of their death?”

“Ooh! A loophole! I love it!” Monobear said. “And to answer your question: the MonoPhone's timer stops counting down when it reaches zero, or if the caller becomes either a victim or a culprit! Otherwise the clock will tick away, second by second, until the uneventful moment of the caller's death! Probably.”

“Probably?!” Joel said.

“That's… not very comforting to hear,” Melissa said.

“Eh,” Monobear said with a shrug. “I never checked that the caller would absolutely die when the time hit zero, so it's a possibility!”

“S-seriously?!” Wyatt said. “You're really telling us that?”

“What's it matter to _you_?!” Monobear said. “I reserve the right to withhold information in the name of despair!”

“Okay, we're all done talking to you now,” Dirk said.

“…” Monobear drooped his head and fell silent. A few seconds later, he began snoring softly.

“So there you have it,” Dirk said. “The timer will stop when the caller either dies or kills someone.”

“So in theory, Nina could have been the one to make the call,” Ella said.

“That's all well and good,” Mark said. “But that also means you're proposing that Nina was willing to kill someone.”

Ella folded her arms and looked to the side. “That's why I was hesitant to say,” she said. “It's… there's nothing worse than having to speak ill of a dead friend, but I wouldn't mention it if I didn't think there was a real possibility of it being the case.”

“We… we don't know that for sure,” Naomi said. “So… so even if Nina made the call, you can't say that she would try and kill someone!”

“I'm sorry,” Ella said. “But I think it's possible. There's… something that only Nina could have feasibly done.”

“What do you mean…?” Charlie said. “Is there… really something?”

-

[ **Sprinkler System** / Hallway Door / Vending Machine]

Charlie: This is it…!

-

“U-unless…” Charlie said. “You—you're talking about the sprinkler system, aren't you?”

Ella frowned. “I am,” she said.

“What… what about it,” Chelsea said. “What the fuck about it?!”

“I-I…” Charlie said. “The sprinkler system in the IT room… was disabled before the fire was started.”

“Yeah, that's obvious,” Chelsea said. “But why does it have to be Nina?! Why couldn't the killer have done it?!”

“B-because of the time…” Charlie said. “It was turned off… at two-thirty-one…”

“And, if I recall, that's only one minute after you and Joel left the IT room,” Ella said. “So, at that time, the only person in the IT room would have been Nina.”

“No…” Chelsea said. “Bullshit… fucking bullshit…”

“Still, if we keep thinking about it,” Melissa said. “Why would Nina disable the sprinkler system in the first place?”

-

[To save energy / **To start the fire** / To protect herself]

Ella: This proves it!

-

“It would be because Nina intended to start the fire,” Ella said. “It… it seems likely that she was planning on trapping someone in the IT room and burning them to death...”

“No… no fucking way…” Chelsea said.

“This is… this is too screwed up,” Wyatt said.

“I'm having a hard time swallowing this,” Mark said. “So Nina was the caller? And she attempted to kill someone?”

“So that would make her intended victim the culprit,” Marian said. “In that case, is there any evidence that points to Nina's murder plan?”

“Yeah, I'd like to hear more, too,” Dirk said. “This theory… There's definitely something here for us to get out of it.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Loud Noise, Crawlspace, Locked Room, Bookcase, Headband**

Ben: Nina? The caller? She was really **willing to commit murder**?

Ella: …Yes.

Wyatt: If that's true… Damn.

Wyatt: Just goes to show _**you can't trust anyone**_ …

Joel: Uh, that's probably not the right mindset to have…

John: But anyway, Nina's supposed murder plan.

John: Let's hear it.

Ella: Of course.

Ella: It's likely that Nina was planning on **trapping her victim in the IT room** …

Ella: …Then **setting the IT room on fire**.

Ella: Her victim, and by extension the IT room, **would burn down** …

Ella: It would have **left no evidence** if done right.

Joel: God…

Carlos: Just one question.

Ella: Yes?

Carlos: Well, your theory sounds solid, but…

Carlos: Nina would be **caught up in the fire too** , wouldn't she?

Carlos: Especially since you said she was gonna trap her victim…

Naomi: Yeah, that's a pretty big hole in your theory there!

Naomi: So, you're probably not right!

Naomi: _**Nina was innocent all along**_!

**Answer: Crawlspace → “caught up in the fire too”**

Ella: You've got that wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“You're overlooking something,” Ella said.

“I… am?” Carlos said.

“Yes,” Ella said. “The crawlspace that connects the IT room with the adjacent classroom.”

“The what?!” Joel exclaimed.

“Yeah, I don't…” Naomi said. “There's a what now?”

“It's hidden behind the laptop storage cart in the IT room,” Ella said. “Marian, you can back me up on this, right?”

“Well, yes,” Marian said. “Such a crawlspace does exist. The other opening is behind a moveable bookcase in the classroom next door.”

“This is getting very detective novel all of a sudden,” Wyatt said. “Like, why does something like that even exist?”

“I have a theory,” Dirk said. “It's how Monobear manages to seemingly appear out of nowhere – he just rushes through unseen crawlspaces and pops up where he's needed.”

“I mean, I like that explanation a little better than believing this school was actually built that way,” Chelsea said. “So I'm gonna choose to believe that.”

“Disregarding that for now,” Melissa said. “Nina was going to use that to escape the burning IT room after dealing with her victim? And then… what?”

“I'd guess come down to the cafeteria to tell us that the IT room's on fire,” Marian said. “From there, it would have just been a matter of lying. That's the gist of this, right?”

“Pretty much,” Ella said.

“But, of course, something went wrong,” Marian said. “The person she had brought up to the IT room figured out she was going to kill them, or got lucky or something, and killed her first. Then, they finished Nina's plan off, escaping out of the IT room and setting it on fire and then fleeing the scene.”

“So the culprit's really just someone who fought back against Nina?” Carlos said. “I don't know if that makes me feel better or not…”

“Hey, at least it means they didn't have the intention to murder her, right?” Wyatt said. “So they're not totally as in the wrong as Shauna was.”

“…Let's not talk about Shauna,” Ella said flatly.

“So,” John said. “Nina's the caller and she invited someone to the IT room to kill – presumably, that person is our culprit.”

“Is it really that easy?” Joel said.

“Well…” Marian said. “There's still the matter of finding out who this person was, and how Nina contacted them in the first place. So we still have some way to go before we can reach a verdict.”

“Then, hm,” Naomi said. “Is there any way we can find out more about who did it?”

“Maybe, if we analyse Nina's actions,” Mark said. “There… might be something.”

“Her actions?” Chelsea said. “What do you mean?!”

“I mean, we should look back over everything Nina did from the moment the motive was unveiled onwards,” Mark said. “There might be something that uncovers her plan.”

“If you say so,” Chelsea said, frowning. “I'm still not sold.”

-

**LOGIC DRIVE!**

**Did Nina do anything as a direct result of the motive?**

[Suggested the beach day / Suggested the dev session / Suggested things go as normal]

**When did Nina decide on her victim?**

[Before the beach day / After the beach day]

**How did Nina approach her intended victim?**

[In private / In front of everyone else / Sent a note]

**When did Nina decide to execute her plan?**

[Before the victim's dev session / During the victim's dev session / After the victim's dev session]

**Answers: Suggested the dev session; After the beach day; In private; Before the victim's dev session**

Mark: This connects it together!

**BREAK!**

-

“Nina… must have planned on using her dev session,” Mark said. “She began to really push for it after the motive was announced, and had the idea firmly planted in our minds by the end of the beach day.”

“Of course,” Ella said. “An intimate one-on-one moment alone with someone for nearly thirty minutes… it's as perfect a murder scenario as you can get.”

“I… really don't like this theory…” Joel said.

“She also used the beach day as a means of singling out her intended target,” Mark said. “She watched us, looking to see who'd be the easiest to kill.”

“This is beginning to sound kinda familiar,” Chelsea said. “The person who took charge of the group's spirit using a social gathering to single one of us out? Didn't this exact thing happen during the dance, too?”

“It worked, didn't it?” Ben said. “Maybe she thought to try it again.”

“Regardless, once she decided on her victim, she made the call that night,” Mark said. “Then, she arranged the dev sessions to place her intended victim's slot at a later time, presumably to give herself enough time to prepare the IT room for her plan and go through enough dev sessions that she wouldn't appear suspicious.”

“God…” Carlos said. “I… I can't believe this…”

“After that, it was just a matter of meeting with her intended victim in private and telling them to meet her at a time earlier than their proposed session, probably with an excuse that someone else requested a time change,” Mark said. “This would be after she'd already announced the session times to everyone else.”

“So the victim would reach the IT room, think it was their session time…” Melissa said. “And fall into Nina's trap.”

“And I guess we'd…” Chelsea said. She froze up all of a sudden, going pale. “Oh my God. Oh my fucking God.”

“Chelsea?” Naomi said. “What is it?”

“Yeah…” Wyatt said. “Something wrong?”

“I know,” Chelsea breathed. “I _know_ who Nina invited to the IT room privately. I – I know who the culprit is…!”

“W-whoa!” Naomi said. “That's a leap!”

“I still have no clue…” Carlos said. “How did you figure it out?”

“Think about it,” Chelsea said. “If you think about when Nina would be able to most easily be alone with someone, then it becomes obvious.”

“When she was alone with someone…?” Naomi said.

“Wait,” Marian said uneasily. “You're not… you're not referring to…”

-

[Volleyball game / **Clean-up teams** / Breakfast]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“You're… talking about the clean-up teams, right?” Marian said. “The groups we broke off into to return the supplies from the beach.”

“W-what about those?” Wyatt asked.

“There's… something suspicious there?” Charlie asked.

“Hey,” Ella said. “I don't know anything about these groups; could you explain it to me quickly?”

“Of course,” Marian said. “After the beach day, Nina suggested we break off into smaller groups to more efficiently clean up after ourselves and bring the supplies back in order to allow as much time for her dev session as possible.”

“And, is there any specifically strange about the groups?” Ella asked.

“…Yes,” Marian said. “We were split off into teams of three. Nina arranged them using a random generator on her phone, and…” She suddenly blanched. “ _Oh_.”

“You realise it too, huh?” Chelsea said.

“W-wait,” Naomi said. “So someone from Nina's clean-up team is the killer? R-really?”

“Yes…” Marian said, looking deeply unsettled. “If you think back to who was in the team, and think about whose whereabouts can be confirmed during the time of the murder, then the culprit becomes clear.”

“The two people in Nina's group…” Melissa said. “They were… John, and…” She gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. “Then that really means… it can only be…!”

-

**SELECT A STUDENT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone's looking kinda suspicious. i wonder who it could be??? find out the answer to this cliffhanger in part two of the trial!
> 
> or try to solve it for yourself if you're feeling like a detective. whatever's best for you!


	18. Occam's Razor (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a little longer, but it's here regardless!
> 
> the pta is also introduced here - i'm a little iffy on the formatting, but hopefully it's okay!
> 
> i also tried a little better with the pacing and mechanics, but bear with me until i nail it. 
> 
> other than that, let's jump right back in!

**SELECT A STUDENT!**

[ **WYATT TEMPLE** ]

Melissa: It can only be you!

**BREAK!**

-

“W-Wyatt…” Melissa said, stunned. “You're… the other member of Nina's clean-up team.”

“So, that makes Wyatt…” Carlos said, unable to finish.

“R-really…?” Naomi said.

“Huh,” Wyatt said. Then, he seemed to realise. His face went deathly pale and he recoiled out of shock. “Wait, wait, wait – _what?!_ ”

“You were the third member of the dormitory team,” Marian said. “Nina, John… and you. I'm not wrong, am I?”

“No, that checks out,” John said. “Wyatt was definitely part of our group.”

“H-huh…” Wyatt said. He was beginning to sweat nervously. “W-what kind of wild coincidence…?”

“Except it's no coincidence at all,” Marian said. “Nina rigged the drawing of the groups so that the two of you would be together – specifically, so that she could invite you to the IT room at an earlier time than your planned session.”

“Th-this is _absurd…_ ” Wyatt stammered. He swallowed nervously. “I mean, really? N-Nina invited me to the IT room to k-kill me, and I struck b-back first? R-really?”

“That seems to be the case,” Ella said flatly. “That is, unless, you have evidence to prove otherwise?”

“I – I…” Wyatt said. “That is…”

“Fine, let's start simply,” Marian said. “What is your alibi for Nina's murder?”

“Y-yeah, that,” Wyatt said. “I was… I was in the textile building with Ben the whole time.”

“And you can testify that, Ben?” Marian said critically. “He was with you the _whole_ time?”

“W-well,” Ben said nervously. “I… I'd _say_ so.”

“Don't do this,” Wyatt said desperately. “Oh God please don't do this.”

“I detect a _but_ there, Ben,” John said.

Ben nodded uncomfortably. “But… we weren't together the whole time,” he said. “There were a few times that we were on opposite sides of the building gathering material for a while, so…”

“There was definitely an opportunity for him to slip out without you noticing,” Marian said.

Ben looked away. “…”

“H-hey…” Wyatt said. “How's about we don't do this, yeah? I mean, come on!”

“And in other words, you have no alibi,” Marian continued. She frowned. “This… isn't looking too good for you, Wyatt.”

“S-so?!” Wyatt said. “Not having an alibi doesn't automatically make you the culprit!”

“That it doesn't,” Marian admitted. “But it's not the only piece of evidence against you.”

“H-hey,” Wyatt said. “T-that's unfair!”

“How is it unfair?” John asked.

Wyatt balled his fists up. “B-because you don't have any solid evidence against me!” he exclaimed. “You're basing this accusation against me on assumptions about a scenario that isn't even confirmed as true!”

“Then do you have an alternative scenario we can construct based on our available evidence?” Ella asked.

“Uh… I…” Wyatt said.

“If you're struggling to come up with something, that's actually quite telling,” John said. He looked deeply unsettled.

“T-telling?!” Wyatt said, suddenly on the defensive. “Maybe that's because there's nothing _to_ tell! I'm innocent! Please, believe me!”

“I… suppose we can give you one more chance to explain yourself,” Marian said. “Just so we can be completely sure.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Blocked Door, Open Window, Locked Room, Wyatt's Analysis, Joel's Account**

Wyatt: I— **I'm not the killer**!

Wyatt: Honestly and literally, why would I kill Nina?!

Ella: We already established that…

Ella: It was likely either _ **an act of self-defence**_ against an attack Nina initiated…

Ella: Or an act of enraged _ **retaliation**_.

Wyatt: This is all because _ **I don't have a solid alibi**_ , isn't it?!

Mark: There's also the fact that you were alone in a group with Nina, too.

Wyatt: S-so?! You **can't prove that Nina spoke to me about anything weird** during that time period!

Wyatt: C-can you?!

John: I… suppose not.

Naomi: Hm… Wyatt might have a point.

Naomi: I mean, it's _ **not like he's done anything suspicious**_ , right?

John: Could you define suspicious?

Naomi: Well, **he hasn't avoided any questions** during the investigation…

Naomi: He **hasn't been able to lie about any evidence** or anything…

Naomi: And he **hasn't been acting suspicious** at all! Not really!

Wyatt: Y-yeah! Exactly!

Wyatt: I-if you don't have any real solid evidence against me…

Wyatt: Then it's settled! **I'm not the culprit**!

Melissa: Could that… really be true?

Melissa: Are we wrong after all?

Dirk: …

**Answer: Wyatt's Analysis → “hasn't been able to lie about any evidence”**

Marian: No, you're wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Actually, now that I think about it,” Marian said. “There _is_ something Wyatt could have lied to us about.”

“Eh?” Wyatt said.

“There is?” Joel said.

“Y-yeah…” Naomi said. “What is it?”

“During the investigation,” Marian said. “Ella and I spoke to Wyatt in the textile building about the threads of fabric on Nina's body.”

“I remember,” Ella said. “Wyatt told us that kind of fabric isn't found in the textile building.”

“However, we never managed to actually investigate the textile building,” Marian said. “So it's entirely possible that Wyatt could have lied to us about that.”

Wyatt flinched backwards out of shock. “G-gh…!”

“And since nobody can verify the textile building's stock, there's no way to prove that what you're saying is the truth,” Marian said.

“No, I—” Wyatt said, shaking. “I didn't—”

“Hey! Stop it!” Ben shouted suddenly, glaring at Marian.

“Ben?” Marian said. “What is it?”

“I… I won't have you keep ruthlessly accusing Wyatt like that!” Ben said. “I mean, I've already proven to you that Wyatt couldn't have done it!”

“Really?” Marian said.

“Yeah!” Ben said. “And if you've forgotten, let me explain it again!”

-

**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

**Evidence Blades: Wyatt and Ben's Account, Campus Distance, Cammy's Account**

Ben: If you'd been listening…

Ben: Then you'd know Wyatt can't be the culprit!

Ben: In fact, if you look back…

Ben: It's clear that you already have the evidence!

**ADVANCE!**

Marian: Okay, so I already have evidence that proves Wyatt's innocence.

Marian: Would it be too much to ask you to elaborate?

Ben: If you're asking…

Ben: I'm referring to our alibi!

Marian: Alibi?

Ben: Yeah!

Ben: Back during the investigation…

Ben: Wyatt gave you an alibi!

Ben: And **he hasn't said anything inaccurate** since then, has he?!

Ben: There's **no reason for you to doubt his testimony** , is there?!

Ben: Plus…

Ben: It's not like you can **confidently claim that Wyatt's the culprit** , can you?!

Ben: So because you can't…

Ben: It's pretty safe to say that Wyatt is innocent!

**Answer: Wyatt and Ben's Account → “he hasn't said anything inaccurate”**

Marian: Your claims are all wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Actually, Wyatt has given an inaccuracy,” Marian said.

“H-huh?” Ben said. “He has?”

“Yes,” Marian said. “He told us that the two of you were together in the textile building during the entirety of the murder… but that doesn't match up with what you yourself have told us.”

“It… doesn't?” Ben said.

Marian shook her head. “You just said that you and Wyatt were in fact _not_ together the entire time, so… does that not contradict Wyatt's earlier statement?”

“God, no…” Ben said. He looked visibly upset. “You're… not you're not…”

“So Wyatt's told us both lies and inaccurate information,” Dirk said. He raised an eyebrow. “If I didn't know better, I'd say you were pushing yourself into a corner.”

“I…” Wyatt said, words failing him. “You can't…”

“Look, I'm sorry,” Marian said. “But when you consider this with the evidence towards Nina's actions and your lack of a solid alibi, then—”

“Hey!” Wyatt shouted with an air of desperation. “If we wanna talk alibis as a method of accusing people, then isn't there someone else even more suspicious?!”

“N-not really…” Joel said.

“I don't think so, either,” Carlos said.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, but the shaking and sweating betrayed the attempt at a calm demeanour. “R-really?” he said. “You've all really forgotten that there's one other person here with an unconfirmed alibi?”

“You're surely not suggesting—” John began.

“Yeah! Yeah I am!” Wyatt said. He turned and pointed dramatically. “If we're going by shaky alibis, then doesn't that make Naomi as much of a suspect as me?!”

“Wait…” Chelsea said. “You're serious?!”

“H-huh?” Naomi said. Then she let out a screech. “Wha?!”

“Th-that's right!” Wyatt said. “Naomi, you _told_ Marian and her group that you didn't have an alibi during the investigation, didn't you?!”

“W-well…” Naomi said sheepishly.

“Don't try and deny it!” Wyatt said, growing more desperate. “It's right here in the evidence log!”

Naomi's eyes grew wide. “Gh…! You can't be seriously…!”

“Naomi was in the skate park on her own during the murder,” Wyatt read from his ElectroID. “Her alibi cannot be confirmed.”

“I—I…” Naomi said. “D-don't try and turn this on me!”

“Yeah, sorry,” Wyatt said dryly. “But since not having a solid alibi makes you an automatic murder suspect, we might as well be thorough, right?!”

“D-dude…” Joel said. “Calm down.”

“Oh, really?” Wyatt said. He laughed hysterically. “You all think I-I'm a m-murderer, and you want me to be _calm_? _Really_?”

“He's really losing his cool,” Mark said. “Is this an admission of guilt…?”

“H-hey!” Wyatt snapped. “Don't psychoanalyse me! That's not even your ETL talent!”

“Would you rather I did it?” John said flatly. “Because I can say for certain that—”

“Don't finish that statement!” Wyatt said. He looked around desperately. “Y-you're all just trying to deflect from my totally valid point! Naomi's just as suspicious as I am!”

Naomi began to tear up. “Th-this isn't funny…” she said. “You guys—you guys know I didn't do it, right?!”

“Hm,” Marian said. “There really isn't any substantial evidence against you Naomi, so unless something unprecedented shows itself, I'm inclined to vouch for your innocence.”

“S-so… she's innocent?!” Wyatt said. “Really?!”

“It's not confirmed,” Ella said. “But it seems to be that way.”

“O-oh!” Wyatt said. “So that's how it is! _She_ gets to avoid all suspicion like that, but _I'm_ under heat?! How is that fair?! You haven't even explained how Naomi's innocent!”

“If we do, will you stop shouting at us…?” Mark asked.

“When you stop trying to call me a killer, then maybe!” Wyatt said. “So, let me hear it! How is it that Naomi's not suspicious, but I am?! Go on, tell me!”

“Let me handle it,” Marian said. “Okay, Wyatt, I hope you're listening closely, because I don't see the need to explain this more than once.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Hallway Door, Naomi's Account, Campus Distance, Open Window, Cammy's Account**

Wyatt: As it stands, **Naomi is just as suspicious as I am**!

Ella: For some reason, I doubt that.

Naomi: Y-yeah! **I'm completely one hundred percent innocent**!

Wyatt: B-but…!

Wyatt: You **have no alibi**!

Wyatt: Your whereabouts until we discovered the body are **completely unconfirmed**!

Wyatt: A-and it's not like you're **physically incapable** of killing Nina!

Wyatt: I mean, with those skates of yours…

Wyatt: You could practically make it halfway across the campus **in no time at all**!

Naomi: H-hey! Cut this out!

Naomi: I defended you earlier!

Wyatt: Even so…

Wyatt: Doing the decent thing doesn't make you immune from suspicion, does it?

Naomi: This… really isn't cool…

**Answer: Campus Distance → “in no time at all”**

Marian: No, you're wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Could Naomi have really made it across the campus as fast as you're implying?” Marian said.

“W-well, yeah!” Wyatt said. “She has those skates! It'd probably only take her a couple minutes to get away from the crime scene and back to where she said she was!”

“Hey, Naomi,” Marian said.

“Y-yeah?” Naomi replied.

“You remember our conversation from earlier, don't you?” Marian said. “About how long it would take someone to get across the campus?”

“O-oh! I do!” Naomi said. “Only…” A troubled expression crossed her face. “I… also explained that it would only take ten minutes to get from the IT room to the skate park, so…”

“Ha!” Wyatt exclaimed loudly. “Caught by your own evidence! That's more than enough time to get away from the crime scene before anyone else discovered the body!”

“But, if I'm remembering correctly,” Ella said. “Isn't it only another two minutes' walk to reach the textile building? So, feasibly, you could have also made it back in time.”

“Th-that's…!” Wyatt said.

“We seem to have reached a problem,” John said. “Right now, any evidence to condemn Wyatt will also condemn Naomi, and likewise any vindicating evidence will also apply to the both of them.”

“So…” Melissa said. “We have to find out if there's something Wyatt could have done that Naomi couldn't, or vice versa.”

“Maybe if we run through the case again?” Carlos said. “We might pick on something that only applies to one of them.”

“That's a good idea,” Marian said. “Let's run through the case one more time and see if anything sticks out.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Naomi's Account, Wyatt and Ben's Account, Telephone Timer, Blue Threads, Body Discovery Time**

Marian: Nina's murder case goes as follows.

Marian: After the unveiling of the motive, _ **Nina decided to commit murder**_.

Marian: She used the beach party as a means of _**scoping out her intended victim**_ …

Marian: And then after making her decision, _**made the call that night**_.

Marian: The following day, she _**rigged the drawing of the clean-up groups**_ …

Marian: She did this to make sure that she'd be in _ **the same group as her intended target**_.

Wyatt: Hey! That last part's pure conjecture!

Wyatt: Come up with something that isn't just one big **assumption**!

Marian: So you won't accept that as the truth? Well, there's not much I can do there.

Marian: Regardless, let's move onto the events we do know happened.

Marian: At some point, Nina _**contacted her intended victim**_ to tell them to come to the IT room…

Marian: …At _**around two-thirty pm**_ , before their scheduled time.

Marian: After Chelsea and Joel left the IT room, Nina _**disabled the sprinkler system**_ as part of her plan.

Marian: Then, when the culprit arrived, _**initiated her plan**_.

Marian: Whether or not Nina _ **succeeded in attacking her victim**_ is unknown…

Marian: However, ultimately Nina's victim _**dealt the previously discussed injuries**_ to her…

Marian: And then _**set the IT room on fire**_ , completing her plan for her.

Marian: The culprit escaped the IT room _**through the crawlspace**_ …

Marian: Then they _**sealed the IT room with the bookcase**_ to create the illusion of a locked room murder.

Marian: After that, _**they fled the scene**_ , and only came back after the body discovery announcement.

Marian: …I think that covers it for this case so far.

John: So, I guess we now need to think if there's _**evidence that exclusively connects Wyatt to the crime**_ …

John: Or, _**evidence that exclusively connects Naomi to the crime**_.

Charlie: Is there really anything like that…?

Joel: I mean, that's a lot of evidence we have to think about, right?

Joel: Finding the truth seems pretty damn impossible…

**Answer: Blue Threads → “** _**evidence that exclusively connects Wyatt to the crime** _ **”**

Carlos: That's right!

**BREAK!**

-

“I think there's definitely something in the evidence that only connects to Wyatt,” Carlos said.

“What is it?” John asked.

“It's those blue threads found on Nina's neck,” Carlos said.

“The threads…?” Melissa said, in thought.

“H-hey,” Wyatt said. “You mean those threads that I _told_ you didn't come from the textile building?”

“And is there any reason why we shouldn't take that testimony of yours as false?” Ella asked, folding her arms. “We've already proven that you could have very easily lied about the textile building's inventory, so there's no reason for us to trust your word at this stage.”

“You haven't proven me of anything yet!” Wyatt exclaimed. “S-so like, saying I _could_ have lied about something suddenly means my word can't be trusted at all?!”

“…Not until you're proven innocent, no,” Ella said.

“This is ridiculous!” Wyatt said.

“Plus, don't you have a bunch of fabric in your dorm room?” Mark asked.

“He does,” Marian said. “Wyatt, correct me if I'm wrong, but you do have your own personal supply of fabric that you used for the dance, don't you?”

“H-huh?” Wyatt said. “T-the dance…?”

“Please don't tell me you've suddenly forgotten about the dance we had a few days ago,” Marian said wearily.

“O-of course I haven't forgotten about that,” Wyatt said. “But, honestly, what the hell does this have to do with this case?!”

“Quite a lot, actually,” Marian said. “It gives you another source to get the fabric from.”

“O-oh, I see how it is,” Wyatt said defensively. “I mean, sure whatever, but this doesn't make any sense! All that fabric in there was from the textile building in the first place!”

“That's a lie,” Marian said.

“W-what?!” Wyatt shouted, looking from side to side nervously. “H-how is it a lie?! How can you even prove that's a lie?!”

“Easily,” Marian said. “If you cast your mind back, there should be an obvious reason as to why that is.”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

I R V I O T F E S M T

**Answer: FIRST MOTIVE**

Marian: This is what it means!

**BREAK!**

-

“Does everyone here remember Monobear's first motive?” Marian asked.

“How could anyone forget about that…” Mark said.

“Yeah, that was… something,” Chelsea said.

Ella looked down and to the side. “…”

“I-I guess yeah,” Wyatt said. “And your point is…?”

“And you surely remember what the motive was, right?” Marian asked.

“It was… It was trapping us all inside the central building until someone committed a murder,” Melissa said.

“Thank you, Melissa,” Marian said. She turned back to Wyatt. “So, I fail to see how you could have gotten the fabric from the textile building when none of us could leave the central building.”

“I… I…” Wyatt said.

“So, unless there's something you're not telling us, that fabric came from your room,” Marian said. “Which, coincidentally, is also a place that Naomi cannot access in any capacity.”

“Hgh…!” Wyatt spluttered out. “S-stop…”

“It stands that if this fabric didn't come from the textile building, then it must have come from your room,” Marian said. “Thus, Naomi is proven completely innocent of this crime by the fact that she could not have obtained this fabric.”

“Th-that's a relief…” Naomi said.

“I mean, nobody doubted you at any point,” Chelsea said. “But yeah. Good to hear it.”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Wyatt?” Marian said. “Any other defence?”

“I…” Wyatt said. “I…” A forlorn, despairing expression presented itself on his face.

“I think we're done here,” Ella said uneasily.

“In that case,” Marian said, adopting a professional tone. “Wyatt, do you confess to the murder of Nina?”

“I…” Wyatt said. Then, something sparked in his eyes. “I _object!_ ”

Marian raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” she said.

Wyatt pounded a fist on his podium. “Th-this is _bullshit_!” he shouted with indignant fury. “You haven't proven _jack shit_ against me!”

“W-Wyatt…?” Ben said, visibly taken aback.

“Okay, sure!” Wyatt said. “I've got some fucking fabric in my dorm room, like yeah okay, but what the hell does that prove?! It's fucking fabric!”

“Fabric that could have easily been the blue synthetic fabric used to choke Nina,” Marian said.

“Like shit it is!” Wyatt said. “Do you really think I'd have such _garbage_ lying around in my personal collection?! I'm the ETL Fashion Designer, _God fucking damn it!_ ”

“Shit, he's really losing it…!” Chelsea said.

“Y-yeah…” Naomi said. “This is pretty scary…”

“And _you!_ ” Wyatt said, pointing aggressively at Naomi. “How the _fuck_ have you been proven innocent like at all!”

“W-what?!” Naomi said.

“Yeah! You _know_ what the hell I'm saying!” Wyatt shouted. “It's not a fucking reach to say that _you_ had the fabric already!”

“B-but I…!” Naomi said. Tears sprung in the corners of her eyes.

“Okay, you need to take it down by like ten fucking notches, kid,” Chelsea said. “We've established pretty damn well that Naomi—”

“Shut it! Shut the fuck up!” Wyatt snapped. “Literally nobody cares what you have to say!”

“Okay well fuck you too then, you piece of shit,” Chelsea said.

“I am _not_ a fucking piece of shit!” Wyatt shot back. “I am _important_ , and most importantly, _not_ a fucking murderer!”

“You really are being a jerk right now, you know?” Mark said. He looked uncomfortable. “And, this really isn't helping your case here, either…”

“You know what?! I don't give a shit!” Wyatt said. “I'm not the collective group of a dozen _assholes_ who decided that I killed Nina!”

“Wyatt, you need to calm down right this second,” Marian said. “A shouting match will achieve absolutely nothing.”

“Maybe I'm not interested in achieving anything right now!” Wyatt said. “Maybe, _maybe_ , I'm just so incredibly really pissed off!”

Marian sighed shakily. “If you don't stop meaninglessly yelling at people, we'll call for a vote right now.”

“You wouldn't dare…!” Wyatt said.

Marian looked over in the direction of Monobear. “Wouldn't I?” she said with a grimace.

“D- _don't do that_!” Wyatt shrieked. “I'm literally _not the culprit_!” He glared across the courtroom at Naomi. “ _S-she's the one behind it_!”

“So, could you explain how there's still a case against Naomi?” Marian said. “What is your line of argument here?”

“I literally said that a few seconds ago!” Wyatt said. “Naomi still could've had the fabric and killed Nina with it! Weren't you _listening_ at all?!”

“I'm listening now,” Marian said. “So please, go ahead and explain your theory.”

“F-fine!” Wyatt said. “It's pretty fucking clear how Naomi did it! She used the straps from a piece of her safety gear and used _that_ to kill Nina the fuck dead!”

“S-safety gear…?” Carlos said.

“Yeah!” Wyatt said. “Like helmets and knee pads and that shit! That's how she got the murder fabric!”

“O-oh God, I…” Naomi said. “You're really not seriously…”

“You're wrong,” Marian said. “Sorry to say, Wyatt, but your theory holds no water.”

“W- _what?!_ ” Wyatt said. “In what fucking world” His expression shifted to a vicious snarl. “I won't accept that! You haven't even explained _how_ I'm wrong!”

“Do I even need to?” Marian asked.

“Fucking _yeah_!” Wyatt said. “Go on, _lawyer_ , explain to me how the _fuck_ my theory's not right! I'm waiting!”

-

**PANIC TALK ACTION!**

**PHASE 1**

Wyatt: I'm completely right!

Wyatt: Your explanations are shitty!

Wyatt: Me? Guilty? What a fucking joke!

Wyatt: You can't prove what you're saying!

Wyatt: Assumptions! All assumptions!

**PHASE 2**

Wyatt: H-how the fuck is she innocent!

Wyatt: I didn't do it!

Wyatt: I won't accept it! Not at all!

Wyatt: This is completely distasteful…!

Wyatt: You've got it all wrong!

**PHASE 3**

Wyatt: Your explanations are all shit!

Wyatt: You mean to accuse me? Wearing _that_ shirt with _those_ shoes?!

Wyatt: I'm a fashion designer! I know my fabrics fucking damn it!

Wyatt: You're all completely ugly!

Wyatt: What the fuck will it take for you to see I'm not the culprit!

**FINISHING BLOW!**

Wyatt: Naomi used the straps on her safety gear to kill Nina! This is literally not a fact you can disprove!

ANY

WEAR

NAOMI

DOESN'T

**Answer: NAOMI DOESN'T WEAR ANY**

Marian: You've got that wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“I have an open question for everyone,” Marian said.

“Go ahead,” John said.

“Has anyone here seen Naomi wear safety gear at any point since arriving at this school?” Marian asked. “Or even allude to the existence of any such gear?”

“That's… hm,” Melissa said. “I don't think so.”

“She's never mentioned anything like that to me,” Carlos said.

“Yeah, no, not even once has she brought that up,” Chelsea said.

“Knowing Naomi's style, it's probably correct that she wouldn't wear any at all,” John said.

“I mean, yeah!” Naomi said. “Safety gear would totally ruin the rad skater girl image I have going on, so I just don't bother! I mean, it's not like I really need to wear them since I'm so good anyway.”

“Fucking _no_ …” Wyatt said.

“So there you have it,” Marian said. “The safety gear you're theorising Naomi used to kill Nina with doesn't exist.”

“That's…” Wyatt said. “No, that isn't…”

“So we've eliminated all other possibilities,” Ella said. “The only person that could possibly be the culprit… is you, Wyatt.”

“Gh…!” Wyatt said. He clenched his podium until his knuckles turned white. “I didn't…!”

“So, I guess this is it, huh?” Joel said.

“It's just a matter of voting, then…” Carlos said. “And… sending Wyatt off to his execution…”

“No, no, no, _no…_!” Wyatt said.

Ben folded his arms and looked down with a heavy look on his face. “…”

“H-hey,” Wyatt said. “B-Ben, you can't… you can't let them do this to me, can you…?”

Ben continued to frown. “…”

“G-God, no…” Wyatt said.

“In that case…” Marian said. “Let's proceed to voting. Monobear.”

“You rang?” Monobear said.

“We're ready to vote,” Marian said.

“Upupu… really?” Monobear said. “Well, you bastards have been discussing for what feels like an age, so if you're solid and confident in your theory, please use your ElectroIDs to vote for the individual you believe is the culprit! Will you be right, or oh so dreadfully despair-inducingly wrong? Upupu…”

“A-actually, wait a second,” Melissa said. “I'm not quite ready to vote just yet.”

“Melissa?” Marian said. “Is something wrong?”

“I just… I don't have as solid a grasp on this case as I'd like,” Melissa said. “I think it would do good to go over it all, one more time.”

“I'm with Melissa,” Dirk said. He glanced over at Wyatt. “If we're gonna do this, we'll have to be sure.”

“Nice of you to join us again,” Marian said. “You've barely said anything for a while now.”

Dirk looked to the side. “I was thinking,” he said.

“What about?” Mark asked.

Dirk shrugged. “Mostly the evidence nobody's talked about yet,” he said. “That's probably why this discussion feels so shallow.”

“Well, a thorough discussion is not needed if the verdict is reached first,” Marian said. “But, I suppose there's not much harm in seeing which other evidence applies to Wyatt's crime.”

“I… I didn't…” Wyatt said.

“Okay, yeah,” Dirk said.

“So, should we think about the case again?” Melissa said. “Just… so we're absolutely sure of our argument.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: John's Account, Matchbox, Glass Shards, Vending Machine, Mark's Account**

Dirk: Wyatt is the culprit who murdered Nina…

Dirk: Let's make sure of this fact.

John: …You sound unconvinced.

John: Is something bothering you about our case?

Dirk: Your basis for accusation is strong…

Dirk: But some of the details are a little foggy.

Chelsea: Huh? What kinda details?

Dirk: For starters, we **never determined** the cause of death.

Dirk: We also **disregarded Nina's other injury** without any further discussion.

Dirk: We **never discussed** which items the killer actually used.

Dirk: …And we **haven't seen** evidence of Nina's planned crime, either.

Marian: What do you mean by that?

Marian: It almost feels like you're trying to imply something with those statements.

Dirk: …

Dirk: Think it through.

Dirk: You're all so focused on the threads of fabric that you forgot that there were the remnants of **two things** at the crime scene.

Wyatt: T-two things…?

Wyatt: T-there was only evidence of **one thing** like that at the crime scene…

Wyatt: W-which I **didn't use** , damn it!

Chelsea: Why are you so afraid, huh?

Chelsea: Is it because a second thing would **solidify your guilt**?

Wyatt: G-God, no…

Wyatt: I…

Ella: Wyatt, you seem to be digging yourself into an even deeper hole every time you open your mouth.

Ella: Minute details or not, it's hard to see you as innocent right now.

Wyatt: …

**Answer: Glass Shards → “one thing”**

Melissa: No, that's wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“U-um, Wyatt…” Melissa said. “You do know that there was more than just the fabric on Nina's body, don't you?”

“H-huh…?” Wyatt said slowly. “That's… I…”

“Yeah,” Chelsea said. “How'd you miss the—”

Dirk held up a hand. “Let him say it,” he said. “Wyatt, don't waste your breath playing innocent. Come on now, think back to Nina's body. There were the threads on her neck, and by her body…”

“I…” Wyatt said. “That is, it was…”

“Hold up,” Ben said, eyes wide. “Dirk, you're not—”

“The, uh…” Wyatt continued. “Her ElectroID?”

Dirk looked at him with a blank expression.

“No, wait,” Wyatt said. “The wires from her computer, wasn't it…?”

Dirk folded his arms. “He doesn't know,” he said.

“S-so?” Chelsea said. “What's that matter?”

“It might matter,” Dirk said. “My next question goes to Ben.”

“M-me?” Ben said.

“Yes, you,” Dirk said. “Since Wyatt is so clearly not able to recall what this thing was, could you fill in for him and give the answer instead?”

Ben looked away nervously. “I—I can't…” he said. “I-I never – _we_ never investigated the IT room, so I wouldn't know.”

“Hang on a second,” Mark said. “Dirk, what are you getting at here?”

“The truth, probably,” Dirk said.

“God, you're not…” Chelsea said. “Wyatt's playing dumb right now, asshole.”

“Maybe,” Dirk said. “But, Wyatt said he didn't know before Ben offered the excuse that they didn't check it out during the investigation. Pretty sure that means something.”

“You aren't suggesting Wyatt is innocent, are you?” John said.

Dirk shook his head. “What I'm doing is getting the truth out of him,” he said. “Now, I'll clue you all in on what I'm doing: the thing I'm referring to is the object that caused Nina's head wound.”

“Her head wound?” Carlos said.

“And, to help those who didn't investigate,” Dirk said. “I'm talking about the glass shards on the floor.”

“G-glass shards?” Ben said. “So, are you saying Nina was hit over the head with a glass object?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Dirk said. “Now what kind of glass object would be most accessible to someone here?”

“Accessible?” Melissa said. “Are you talking about…?”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

L S B S T E T O G L A

**Answer: GLASS BOTTLE**

Melissa: This makes sense of it!

**BREAK!**

-

“A glass bottle, right?” Melissa said. “That's what you're referring to, aren't you?”

“Hang on a moment,” Ella said. “We've talked about this before. Right at the start of the trial, when we determined that the fabric was used to strangle Nina.”

“Huh, we did, didn't we?” Joel said.

“That totally happened!” Naomi said. “I totally remember hearing the exact words 'glass shards'!”

“So, I guess the real question is… why doesn't Wyatt remember that?” Mark said.

“That is strange,” Marian said. Then, a troubled expression crossed her face. “Wait. Something else isn't right.”

“What? Something else?” Carlos said.

“Yes,” Marian said. “Wyatt's not the only one who doesn't seem to recall the glass shard discussion.”

“Really?” Carlos said. “There's someone else?”

Marian nodded. “Just now, someone else reacted strangely,” she said. “Someone else was surprised by the fact when they shouldn't have been.”

“Wait,” Carlos said. “You're not talking about…?”

-

[John / **Ben** / Chelsea / Charlie]

Carlos: This proves it!

-

“Uh, Ben,” Carlos said uneasily. “You, uh, you seemed pretty surprised by what Dirk said a second ago.”

“I… I did?” Ben said.

“Yeah,” Carlos said. “Even though we talked about the shards a little earlier, you acted like it was the first time.”

“Hm,” Ben said. “Weird, huh.”

“No, I think it goes beyond weird,” Marian said. “You should have known that fact, yet you pretended like you didn't. Why is that?”

Ben began to sweat nervously. “I mean, yeah, we've talked about so much,” he said, rambling. “It's not that crazy to assume I forgot one thing, right?”

“There we go again with assuming,” Dirk said. “Tell me, you're familiar with the concept of Occam's razor, aren't you?”

“The principle where the correct answer is the one with the fewest assumptions, correct?” John said.

“The exact one,” Dirk said. “So here, to assume that Ben forgot this fact means we also have to assume that something caused him to forget it, and then we have to assume that someone else was behind that something, and so on. But, if we're to go with the most simple answer without any assumptions, the truth becomes clear.”

“Uh…” Ben said.

“Think about it like this,” Dirk said. “What would be the simplest and most logical explanation as to why Ben acted as if this was the first time he'd heard of the glass shards?”

“The most logical…” Marian said. “That would be that Ben is lying.”

Ben flinched.

“And, considering the context, why would Ben lie?” Dirk asked.

“That's…” Marian said. “That would be in order to protect Wyatt.”

“That isn't…” Ben said. “I'm not—”

“Acting surprised when I mentioned the glass shards?” Dirk said. “You're not good enough at this to lie, so don't bother.”

“But if Ben's going to such lengths to protect Wyatt… why?” Naomi said.

“I'm guessing that the glass somehow implicates Wyatt entirely,” Chelsea said.

“But how would a glass bottle…?” Joel said.

“I think I know,” Marian said. “It's to do with where you can actually obtain a glass bottle.”

“And, uh, where are those places?” Mark asked.

“There are only two,” Marian said. “The first is the vending machine in the cafeteria. Obviously, Wyatt didn't get it from there since there are six people here who can testify that he never entered the cafeteria during the span of the murder.”

“Okay, and the second…?” Mark said.

-

[Dance Hall / Swimming Pool / **Textile Building** / East Beach]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“…The textile building,” Marian said. “There's a vending machine there, too.”

Ben brought a fist to his mouth and breathed in sharply. “Hgh…!”

“Ben,” Ella said. “I distinctly remember both you and Wyatt making explicit reference to the vending machine in the textile building during the investigation, so don't try to deny it.”

“So this means…” Charlie said. “The only place the killer could have gotten the bottle… is the textile building?”

“So that really just leaves us with Wyatt as the culprit,” Chelsea said. “So he really did do it…!”

“H-hey! Wait!” Ben said suddenly. “If it's the textile building, doesn't that make me just as much of a suspect too?!”

“Are you confessing to the crime?” Dirk asked.

“W-well! Not exactly!” Ben said. “But I'm just saying! How can you accuse Wyatt but not me?!”

“Were you really not listening?” Dirk said. “This is, like, the only piece of evidence that ties you to the crime, so it stands that it wasn't you.”

“Plus, you don't work with the basis of this accusation,” Ella said.

“W-what basis?!” Ben demanded.

-

[Ben wasn't affected by the motive / Ben wasn't close with Nina / **Ben wasn't alone with Nina** ]

Ella: This proves it!

-

“You were never alone with Nina,” Ella said. “So, there was no opportunity for her to lure you into the IT room. As we've established, the only two people she could have approached about this are either John or Wyatt, and John has a clear alibi for the entire murder.”

“Th-that's…!” Ben said. “Jesus! Why are you so insistent on Wyatt being the culprit?!”

“Because he's the only one that fits with the evidence,” Marian said. “Believe me, we're not doing it out of malice.”

“Equally, we could ask the same of you,” Marian said. “Why are you so insistent on Wyatt _not_ being the culprit?”

“Because… because…” Ben said, faltering. He swallowed nervously. “Because it's completely true! Wyatt didn't do it, I swear!”

“And you have proof to back this statement?” Ella asked. “Unless you can prove that Wyatt was not anywhere near the IT room at the time of the murder, then your argument has no basis.”

“Ben…” Wyatt said, looking uneasy. “You don't—”

“Yeah! I kinda do!” Ben said. “This has gone on for too long, and I'm not gonna let this stupid accusation get us all killed!”

“Fine then,” Marian said. “If you can concretely tell us exactly where Wyatt was and exactly what he was doing at the moment of the murder, then we'll consider your argument.”

“…Okay,” Ben said, taking a deep breath. “Wyatt can't be the culprit because… we were together in the textile building at the time.”

“But, didn't you say earlier that you weren't?” Melissa asked.

“I did,” Ben said. “But that was a lie. I lied, okay?”

“Why would you lie about that?” Naomi asked. “I mean, that's one of the major things that really made Wyatt seem suspicious, you know?”

“Unless he was trying to cover something else up,” Chelsea said. “That'd work, wouldn't it?”

“But then what would he be covering up?” Carlos asked.

“Well,” Ben said. “I… I might have lied, because… I can't really say what we were doing.”

“You… can't?” Marian said. “If that's the case, then we can't really take your word as proof of Wyatt's innocence.”

“Why can't you say?” Mark said.

“I…” Ben said. “That is, we were… doing something.”

“Something?” Mark asked. “What kind of something?”

“Is it to do with whatever you were gathering supplies for?” Carlos asked.

“We… weren't gathering supplies,” Ben said. “We… we were actually doing this other thing the whole time.”

“You're being kinda vague here,” Naomi said. “I'm not really buying it.”

“Look,” Ben said. He looked away awkwardly. “We were in one of the classrooms the whole time, and we… we were, uh… talking about…” His words trailed off and he buried his face in his hands. “God…”

“Uh,” Joel said. “What's wrong?”

“Sounds like he can't come up with a convincing lie,” Chelsea said, pouting. “You tried, Ben, but the game's up. Since you obviously can't come up with whatever _thing_ you were supposedly doing, we can't believe Wyatt was with you at all.”

“Ugh…! I'm trying…!” Ben said from behind his hands. “This is just, like… you know, uh…”

“No, we don't,” Chelsea said. “Explain to us so we do understand, Ben. Go on. We're all listening.”

“It's…” Ben said, then stopped talking, shaking nervously. “Oh God…!”

“What?!” Chelsea said. “What the fuck is it that's so hard about giving us this evidence?! Christ!”

“Lord,” Wyatt said. “You really wanna know what it was?!”

“Well, yeah!” Chelsea said. “Since Ben over here can't spit out whatever great evidence proves you innocent!”

“Jesus! Fine!” Wyatt said. “Since apparently everything needs to be thrown out into the open and then dragged through the mud for you guys to consider me innocent, I might as well say it! Because I apparently haven't humiliated myself enough today!” He took a deep breath, his face going slightly pink. “The reason I'm not the culprit is because Ben and I were fucking together the entire afternoon!”

Next to him, Ben turned an alarming shade of red.

“You keep saying you were together, but you're still not—” Ella said, then she parsed Wyatt's words. “Oh. Oh you can't mean—”

“Yeah! Pretty much!” Wyatt said. He threw his hands up in exasperation. “It was hot and heavy and we made out and then did some other shit which I'm not repeating in polite company! Or any company for that matter! Ever!”

“Oh good God,” Dirk said. “So the reason you can't be the culprit, is because you were… the whole time?”

“As good as! Yeah!” Wyatt said. His face was bright red and Ben looked completely mortified, but he didn't stop talking. “We literally only stopped because the body discovery announcement rang out and good fucking _lord_ did we not want to get caught in a compromising position!”

“In the textile building…?” Melissa asked hesitantly, blushing a little herself.

“Well where the fuck else were we gonna do it?!” Wyatt asked. “The dorms?! Because yeah, we really wanted those awkward questions when both of us came out of the same room! We went there because it was the only place that we'd pretty much be guaranteed to be left alone! God!”

“And, this is really true?” Dirk asked. “This really happened.”

“Upupu… of course it did!” Monobear said, howling with laughter. “I caught the sordid affair on film myself!”

“You… _WHAT?!_ ” Wyatt screamed.

“Upupu… well, until you decided to get _really_ nasty and covered up my precious surveillance camera,” Monobear said. “But I'm glad! This bear likes to live a PG-13 lifestyle!”

“And there we have it,” Dirk said. “Confirmation that Wyatt was in the textile building during the murder, with Ben, and therefore not in the IT room killing Nina.”

“Wait, what?!” Naomi said. “So Wyatt's innocent?!”

“I see no reason why anyone would fabricate a story about getting down and dirty, of all things,” Dirk said.

“So that's what they were hiding,” John said with a thoughtful expression. “They were both trying to cover up something, but I didn't know what it was.”

“S-seriously?” Joel said. “You can read people, but you couldn't tell it was…?”

John looked away. “…Yeah, not really my thing,” he said sheepishly. “Ever. Sorry.”

Dirk sighed. “Anyone else like to come out of the closet before we continue?” he said. “Might as well just air it all out right now, since we seem to be rapidly barrelling from a courtroom drama to an episode of Glee.”

“I mean, pretty sure Nina—” Naomi began.

“And I'm—” Chelsea said at the same time.

“No, you go first,” Naomi said.

“I mean, if we're doing this now,” Chelsea said. “I can appreciate a hot chick as much as a hot guy any time.”

“Yeah, I know how that feels,” Naomi said. “And, like, Nina definitely made it clear she was trans, so I guess that's a thing?”

Dirk face-palmed. “A veritable rainbow of diversity here,” he said flatly. “But anyway, I've gotta pull this LGBT pride meeting to a halt so we can get back to talking about the fact that Nina's dead and someone's responsible for that.”

“Well, if we were gonna derail,” Naomi said. “Might as well do it all the way, right?”

“God you guys can be the worst,” Dirk groaned.

“Uh, hey,” Wyatt piped up. “Not to sound like Queer Enemy Number One or anything, but maybe fuck you guys a little?”

“Wyatt?” Naomi said.

“Yeah, like,” Wyatt said. “We're just going to ignore the fact we spent the best part of the last forty-five minutes accusing me of fucking murder, and move onto a pleasant hand-holding nobody's-straight friendship circle? Like, I'm pretty hurt, you know! I'm not just gonna let you all sidestep this!”

“Okay, yeah, we fucked up,” Cheslea said. “I apologise, dude, seriously.”

“I mean, okay,” Wyatt said critically. “But, like, do you know how embarrassing that whole thing was? Like, I literally can't believe I had to lay out so much deeply personal shit on the table just for you guys to believe me. Was it really that hard to trust me? Seriously?”

“This is my fault,” Ella said. “I kept pushing for the case against you, even at its weak points.” She looked away wistfully. “Guess that's another thing I'm going to ask your forgiveness for.”

“…Let's just move on,” Wyatt said. “I'm really hurt, but I understand where you're all coming from. We can have some kind of mass feelings-jam after the trial if you'd like, but I think I kinda want to focus on finding the culprit for now.”

“Okay, so can we actually move on with this discussion now?” Dirk said.

“Yes, let's,” Marian said. “So, considering Wyatt is _not_ the culprit, we need to find somewhere else to go from.”

“Hm,” Ella said. There was a worried expression on her face. “I think it goes a little further than that.”

“What do you mean?” Marian asked.

“I mean,” Ella said. “Our entire understanding of this case so far has rested on the culprit being someone Nina targeted first, only now that we've proven that neither of the only two people she could have targeted are guilty, doesn't this theory kind of fall apart?”

“Hold on,” John said. “You're not saying that our assumptions have been wrong this whole time?”

“That's… actually exactly what I'm saying,” Ella said. “Because if not you or Wyatt, then who could Nina have feasibly targeted?”

“Shit, you're right,” Chelsea said. “Everyone else has an alibi for the murder except for Naomi, but we've pretty much proven her innocent at this point.”

“That… is really concerning,” Mark said. “And, if we're wrong about Nina planning on killing someone, then that throws literally everything out of the window.”

“That leaves a lot of problems,” Melissa said. “Most pressingly, the fact that Nina probably wasn't the one who made the call last night.”

“O-oh,” Charlie said. “That's… that's really not good…!”

“So, we're really back to square one?” Joel asked.

“Not quite,” Marian said. “I think the points we made about Nina's body and the crime scene are accurate. It's just the human actions we need to re-evaluate.”

“So we know for certain that Nina was hit over the head with a glass bottle and she was choked with some kind of blue fabric,” Melissa said. “And, that the IT room was set on fire by the culprit some time after her death. I suppose we just need to figure out the how more clearly.”

“Well, perhaps we should talk about the fire again,” John said. “If we can pin down everything about that, then maybe something new will present itself.”

“Another clue from the fire…?” Marian said. “Okay, yeah. Let's talk about that.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: John's Account, Fire Damage, Sprinkler System, IT Room Door, Matchbox**

Ella: What we know about the fire so far…

Ella: It occurred **after** Nina was already dead…

Ella: The sprinkler system was **disabled** to allow the fire to burn…

Ella: The culprit somehow **escaped** the IT room before they were harmed…

Ella: And the fire **didn't burn** long enough to cause serious damage.

Ella: Everything else has been conjecture based on a disproved theory.

John: That's… a lot less information than I thought.

Mark: Still…

Mark: Maybe something there can _**tell us more about the culprit**_?

Naomi: I don't know…

Naomi: There's really not anything for us to go off!

**Answer: Sprinkler System → “** _**tell us more about the culprit** _ **”**

Marian: I agree with that!

**BREAK!**

-

“There is something we can gain from this information,” Marian said. “It's that the sprinkler system was definitely disabled at two-thirty-one.”

“I see,” Mark said. “So if Nina didn't do it, then that means the culprit must have done it.”

“Which also means… they must have been in the IT room at that time, too,” Ella said.

“But…” Joel said. “That's so soon after we left Nina.”

“Remind me,” Dirk said. “What time did the two of you leave the IT room at?”

“Around two-thirty,” Chelsea said. “But… that's less than a minute after we left! How the hell did the culprit get in there and do that without the two of us noticing?!”

“This really is troubling,” Melissa said. “It's easy to see now why we assumed Nina was behind the set-up there.”

“And, like, yeah,” Joel said. “Wouldn't we have seen the culprit coming up to the IT room on our way down?”

“…Not necessarily,” Ella said. “If you take a certain something into account, then it becomes clear how the culprit could have done that.”

-

[Hallway Door / **Crawlspace** / Open Window]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“You mean the crawlspace, don't you?” Marian said. “If the culprit was already waiting in there, then they could simply crawl through into the IT room once Joel and Chelsea left.”

“Someone… really did that?” Chelsea said. “Christ.”

“It makes sense,” John said. “They'd be able to get into the IT room and disable the sprinklers in less than a minute. And, if they were careful, they'd be able to do it without alerting Nina's attention.”

“God…” Carlos said. “Who could have done that?”

“I know you mean morally, but that is a valid point,” Melissa said. “Who here would have been able to sneak off to the IT room and lie in wait?”

“That's true…” Charlie said. “I-I mean… doesn't everyone have an alibi?”

“Except for Naomi,” Dirk said. “But… it wasn't her.”

Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. “For a second there, I thought I was gonna have to defend myself again!” she said.

“Nah, you really don't seem the type,” Chelsea said. “Plus, the only person without an alibi being the killer? Doesn't that seem too obvious?”

“It wasn't too obvious when you were accusing me…” Wyatt grumbled.

“Anyway,” Marian said. “The who of the situation can wait a moment. We still need to establish the how.”

“That's right,” Ella said. “We also know that the culprit's actions must end with them away from the scene and the IT room door sealed fifteen minutes later.”

“That's the timeframe we're working with,” Mark said. “It gets even harder knowing now that Nina probably didn't do any of the things we thought she did.”

“Yeah, I think it's safe to say Nina was completely innocent all along,” Dirk said. “Not that the 'Nina made the call and planned to kill Wyatt the next day' theory held much ground under scrutiny.”

“…That also makes the culprit seem worse,” Ben said. “I mean, previously we thought they were acting in self-defence, but now it seems like they deliberately targeted Nina with the intention to kill her all along.”

“We're not here to pass moral judgement,” Dirk said. “We're here to uncover the truth”

“Hey, uh,” Carlos said. “I have a theory.”

“You do?” Marian asked.

Carlos nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I was thinking… maybe we need to look at the culprit's actions in reverse.”

“Reverse?” Melissa said.

“What are you thinking?” Chelsea said.

“I, uh, was thinking that maybe the culprit's actions would make more sense if they happened in the opposite order to what we assume,” Carlos said.

“That's a promising theory, actually,” Marian said. “Could you explain a little more?”

“Yeah, all right,” Carlos said. “I'll try not to take too long explaining it.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: IT Room Door, Locked Room, Crawlspace, Bookcase, Hallway Door**

Carlos: My theory about the case…

Carlos: Is that we have the culprit's actions all _**backwards**_.

Ella: Backwards? Could you elaborate?

Carlos: Okay.

Carlos: Previously, we thought that the culprit entered the IT room _**through the main door**_ …

Carlos: Then, after killing Nina, fled through the _**crawlspace**_ to the classroom next door.

Chelsea: Didn't we literally just get done saying that it happened the other way around?

Carlos: We did, but…

Carlos: That's not my point here.

Wyatt: Then what is?

Carlos: After killing Nina…

Carlos: The culprit _**never went back**_ through the crawlspace.

Ella: Oh?

Carlos: Instead, after starting the fire…

Carlos: They _ **left through the main door**_ before they could be hurt.

Carlos: Then, while in the hallway…

Carlos: They _**sealed**_ the IT room up…

Carlos: And then left.

Ella: That theory sounds logical, but is there any _**evidence that can prove it**_?

Carlos: Well, I mean…

Carlos: Huh.

Ella: If that's the case, let's disregard this theory for now.

**Answer: IT Room Door → “** _**evidence that can prove it** _ **”**

Marian: I agree with that!

**BREAK!**

-

“There may in fact be evidence to support Carlos's theory,” Marian said.

“Really? What kind of evidence?” Ella said.

“Think back to what Charlie said,” Marian said.

“M-me?” Charlie said.

“Yes,” Marian said. “What did the IT room look like when you first moved the bookcase?”

“Oh, uh, well…” Charlie said. “W-we could see that the IT room was burning… because the door was open.”

“Open?” Wyatt said. “Like, behind the bookcase the door was open?”

Charlie nodded. “Y-yes…” she said.

“Okay,” Chelsea said. “But I don't see how that proves the culprit left through the IT room?”

“It's fairly simple once you think about it,” Ella said. “Consider that they only had a twenty minute window, and consider that the IT room is catching fire. Wouldn't they be in a hurry to get out of there before they looked suspicious?”

“So, like, they were in a hurry?” Joel said.

“If they were pressed for time, it makes sense that they'd make a mistake like that,” Marian said.

“Still…” Chelsea said. “Isn't this kind of a reach?”

“Hey, Chelsea, Joel,” John said. “Can I ask you two something?”

“Uh, sure?” Joel said.

“I mean, okay…” Chelsea said.

“Thank you,” John said. “I was just wondering… did you close the IT room door when you left?”

“That's… hm,” Chelsea said.

“Yeah,” Joel said. “I think I remember doing that pretty clearly.”

“And it would also make sense for the IT room to be shut while the culprit murdered Nina, wouldn't it?” John said. “So even if they'd entered through the IT room door, it would still be shut.”

“Therefore… the only logical explanation for the door being open is that the culprit was in a rush getting out of there,” Ella said.

“If you put it like that, I guess it makes sense,” Chelsea said. She paused for a second. “Hey, wait. I just thought of something.”

“What?” Marian asked.

“It's to do with when the culprit would've left the IT room,” Chelsea said. “If they did leave like that cause they were in a hurry and the room was burning… wouldn't that let some smoke out, too?”

“I see where this is going,” Marian said. “You smelled smoke at around two-forty-five, didn't you?”

Chelsea nodded. “Yeah, around then,” she said.

“Ah,” Ella said. “So that gives us the exact timeframe the murder occurred in.”

“So, the killer entered the IT room at two-thirty, and left at two-forty-five,” John said. “The whole thing happened in approximately fifteen minutes.”

“This makes a lot of sense,” Marian said. “So, Carlos, I think we can say that your theory's right.”

“I'm glad,” Carlos said. “Not that I really wanted to be right about what the killer did, but that I helped us get a little closer to the truth.”

“Okay, so that tells us… what?” Naomi asked.

“It tells us the exact timeframe in which the killer took action,” Marian said.

“It could also lead us more directly to the culprit,” Ella said. “I feel that if we interrogate everyone's alibis from two-thirty to two-forty-five, we may gain another lead.”

“So, set up another accusation, huh?” Wyatt said coolly. “You'd better know what you're doing this time around, though.”

“Don't worry, we won't accuse you again,” Marian said. “It's safe to say that you and Ben are on our 'definitely innocent' list.”

“Hm,” Melissa said. “Maybe, regarding this list, it would be better to focus on expanding it rather than try to single out a culprit immediately?”

“What do you mean?” Marian asked.

“I mean that it'll be easier to prove who didn't do it,” Melissa said. “That way, we can narrow down our suspect pool without having a repeat Wyatt scenario.”

“Wow,” Wyatt said. “I literally can't believe we're calling it the Wyatt scenario now.”

“So, what,” Chelsea said. “We try and find who couldn't have killed Nina?”

“Essentially,” Melissa said. “But first… would you all mind if we talked about the motive again a little?”

“The motive?” Dirk asked. “What are you thinking?”

Melissa adjusted her bag's strap nervously. “We know for sure that the culprit and the person who made the call are one and the same, right?”

“It seems that way,” Marian said. “The timer stopped at the moment of Nina's death, and it makes zero sense for Nina to have been the one to make the call.”

“So, I was thinking…” Melissa said. “It might be easier to determine who didn't make the call as opposed to who didn't kill Nina.”

“I… yeah, I see what you're getting at,” John said. “In that case, let's discuss it for a while and see what comes from it.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Campus Distance, Cammy's Account, Telephone Timer, John's Account, Monobear File #2**

Marian: So, discuss the phone call instead of the murder…

Marian: Could that yield more results?

Chelsea: I really don't think so…

Chelsea: I mean, the person made the call at two in the fucking morning!

Chelsea: We can't prove anyone's alibi, so **anyone could have done it**!

Ella: Is that really true?

Ella: Perhaps we can use alibis from **later on** to prove who didn't make the call.

Mark: What are you thinking there?

Ella: If we can confidently claim to know where someone was at the moment the timer hit zero…

Ella: Then we can probably eliminate them from the suspect pool.

Naomi: So, people who couldn't have made the call…

Naomi: Definitely **Ella** , but we know that already.

John: Perhaps the answer lies in one of the **groups of people** that were around during the murder?

Naomi: Hm…

Naomi: In that case, we have **Dirk and Ella** …

Dirk: Yeah, no, I wouldn't have touched that phone.

Naomi: Then, **Ben and Wyatt** …

Ben: I-I think we've been through the exact reason why neither of us would have made that call…

Naomi: There's **Chelsea and Joel** …

Joel: We were keeping a pretty close eye on each other, so… it couldn't have been us.

Naomi: And we also have **the six people in the cafeteria** …

Carlos: And none of us there could have done it, right?

Charlie: A-all of us were together at the moment of the murder, so…

John: Should we take into account the people that were on their own, too?

Naomi: I guess…

Naomi: But that just leaves **Nina** …

Ella: Who's already established as innocent.

Naomi: And, well… **me**.

Dirk: Another person who is cleared of all suspicion.

Mark: Hmm… But can we really trust the word of these smaller groups of people?

Ben: Huh?

Mark: I mean, we weren't all together…

Mark: So why shouldn't we doubt everyone's word?

Chelsea: H-hey…

Mark: I know, it's an awful thing to say, but…

Mark: How else are we ever going to get to the bottom of this?

**Answer: “the six people in the cafeteria” → “anyone could have done it”**

Melissa: No, that's wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Well, we can rule out some people, at least,” Melissa said.

“Huh? Who?” Chelsea asked.

“The six of us in the cafeteria,” Melissa said. “Me, Mark, Charlie, Carlos, John, and Marian.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Mark said. “We were all together, so we each have an alibi that can be confirmed by five other people. It doesn't get much stronger than that.”

“Okay, yeah, I see why you're seeing that,” Chelsea said. “But didn't Carlos see Nina in the IT room? So doesn't that mean he was on his own for some time?”

“Ah, I—” Carlos tried to say. “I mean, of course I didn't—”

“But you could have, right?” Chelsea said. “I mean, that's a span of time where your only alibi is Nina, who's dead.”

“H-hey, no…” Carlos said. “That's wrong…”

“Yes, I have to say it is,” Marian said. “Chelsea, there's a pretty clear reason why Carlos isn't suspicious in the slightest. You yourself should know why.”

“I… should?” Chelsea said.

“Yes,” Marian said. “Think about your own actions, and the reason becomes clear.”

-

[Chelsea was with Carlos / **Chelsea's dev session came after Carlos's** / Carlos and Chelsea spoke with one another]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“Correct me if I'm wrong,” Marian said. “But didn't your dev session come after Carlos's?”

“Oh yeah,” Mark said. “So if Carlos had killed Nina, it's pretty obvious that Chelsea's session wouldn't have happened.”

“There's also the time of death to take into account,” John said. “Carlos was in the cafeteria with the rest of us during the entire timespan of the murder, so there's no way he could have done anything related to Nina's murder.”

“Y-yeah…” Carlos said.

“I don't see why we needed to prove that of all things, but okay,” Ella said. “So, the six people in the cafeteria are without a doubt innocent.”

“Well… that eliminates half the people here,” Naomi said.

“More than half if we take Wyatt and Ben into account,” Marian said.

“Plus Ella, and probably Dirk, too,” Carlos said.

“But can we really leave it at that?” Mark said. “Because by that logic, the suspect pool is reduced to three people.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. “Chelsea, Joel, and… Naomi.”

“I get it,” Wyatt said. “Can we really confidently say that any of those three are the culprit? I mean, for any one of them to be guilty we'd have to prove that they're capable of doing literally everything in this case.”

“Including making the call…” Melissa said.

“We keep coming back to that, don't we?” John said. “If we can't prove that someone made the call, then we can't really accuse them of Nina's murder.”

“And…” Mark said doubtfully. “I'm not sure any of those three could have made the call.”

“What do you mean?” Naomi asked.

“I mean, if we take into account our method of proving people innocent,” Mark said. “Then it's really unlikely that any of you could have done it.”

“The alibi thing, right?” Carlos said. “Yeah, I see how.”

“Because of that, it's pretty much impossible that either Chelsea or Joel did it,” Mark said.

“That's right,” Marian said. “Because of their lookout system, neither one of them could have gone to kill Nina.”

“One of them would be in the bathroom, and therefore wouldn't be able to go to the IT room without raising suspicion,” Melissa said. “And the other would be keeping watch, and the person in the bathroom would grow suspicious if things fell silent.”

“So it can't be them, either,” Ben said.

“Plus, they have perfectly matching alibis,” Mark said. “So no, it doesn't seem to be that way.”

“And, Dirk,” John said. “You're pretty adamant that it wasn't Naomi, either.”

“…Yeah, I am,” Dirk said.

“Which means, again, we're brought back to the fact that nobody could have feasibly done it based on our understanding of where everyone was at the time,” John said.

“This is really not good,” Naomi said.

“We're going in circles at this point, and not getting anywhere,” Mark said.

“Hm,” Marian said. “Let's try and talk about something else instead. The discussion will only fall apart if we don't move on.”

“Okay,” Joel said. “So, what should we talk about?”

“I… I don't know,” Marian said uneasily. “We seem to be running out of things _to_ discuss.”

“We've effectively proved everyone innocent, and the culprit's actions don't really tie to a single person,” Mark said. “Is there even anything left unsolved at this point?”

“Uh…” Charlie said.

“I dunno,” Joel said. “I mean, we've got all the details of the case down, don't we? Only we can't pin it on anyone.”

“Um, I…”

“But we can't just leave it at 'nobody could have killed her',” Wyatt said. “Like, someone here definitely did it. Monobear said as much earlier.”

“E-excuse me…”

“Hey, guys,” Dirk said. “I think Charlie wants to get your attention.”

“T-thank you,” Charlie said nervously.

“Charlie?” Marian said. “What is it?”

“Well… there are still some things that aren't completely clear…” Charlie said. “I-I mean… we still don't know what the culprit used to start the fire, or… s-strangle Nina, and we don't know where the k-killer got the bottle from, either.”

“That's… right,” John said with a frown. “We kind of glossed over those issues. Do you think we could gain something from that?”

“M-maybe…?” Charlie said. “It's… it's just that it's the only thing left to figure out, so maybe it will tell us something important…”

“Well, we don't have much else to go on,” Marian said. “So let's talk about that for a while.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Blue Threads, Glass Shards, Matchbox, Headband, Hallway Door**

Marian: The items used to kill Nina, and start the fire…

Marian: Will that really reveal something?

Ella: Let's review what we know of the items so far.

Ella: Nina's head injury was caused by the culprit breaking _**a glass bottle**_ over her head.

Ella: We're still unclear on where they obtained this bottle.

Ella: The culprit strangled Nina using a strip of _**blue fabric**_ that left threads on the back of her neck.

Ella: Again, we don't know what this fabric is or where it could have come from.

Ella: And the fire…

Ella: Evidence seems to suggest that it was started _**around or underneath**_ Nina's desk and burned out fairly quickly.

Ella: Concerning how the culprit started it… that's still unclear.

Carlos: So, we just need to figure out those three things, right?

Mark: I think that's a case of easier said than done…

Naomi: I mean, we can't just give up though, right?

Naomi: Maybe we can actually say _**where the culprit got the bottle from**_!

Melissa: That has to be… either the cafeteria or the textile building.

Melissa: And we can prove that nobody took a bottle from the cafeteria.

Wyatt: And… yeah. We can prove the same thing at the textile building, too.

Chelsea: I mean, were you two really able to keep an eye out while you were…?

Wyatt: L-let's end this discussion right here! It's cancelled!

Joel: Uh, okay…

Joel: But, maybe there's _**something the culprit used to start the fire**_ we can figure out?

Ben: Like what?

Joel: That's…

Joel: I don't know, it was just a suggestion…

Carlos: Then… what about the fabric?

Carlos: Maybe we can prove _**what kind of fabric the culprit used**_?

Melissa: The only problem there is that we know it didn't come from the textile building.

John: And since Wyatt's innocent, it can't be connected to him.

Chelsea: Another dead end…

John: It really seems to be that way.

Ella: So nobody has any ideas?

Mark: This is starting to look a little hopeless…

**Answer: Matchbox → “** _**something the culprit used to start the fire** _ **”**

Charlie: I agree…!

**BREAK!**

-

“I… I think there might actually be something…” Charlie said. “If we're talking about the fire… then we found something that might have caused it…”

“Really? What is it?” Joel asked.

“The, uh… there's a matchbox hidden in the bookcase,” Charlie said. “I… think it makes sense that the culprit hid it there after starting the fire.”

“That makes total sense!” Naomi said. “Awesome for thinking of that, Charlie!”

“Th-thank you…” Charlie muttered bashfully.

“I remember,” Marian said. “There was a matchbox hidden among the books in what seemed like a hasty attempt by the culprit to hide evidence.”

“So, what,” Wyatt said. “The culprit just so happened to have the matches on them or?”

“No,” Marian said. “It definitely seems like the fire was a premeditated action, at least.”

“C-Christ…” Chelsea said. “What kinda sick bastard…”

“But then where did the culprit get the matches from?” Mark asked. “I don't remember seeing any matches anywhere.”

“That's actually a good point,” John said. “Maybe the location of the matchbox will be more telling of who the culprit actually is.”

“Sounds good,” Naomi said. “But… where do we start?”

“Yeah…” Carlos said. “Where would you even find matches?”

“And this time, it doesn't seem like something someone could have brought with them,” Melissa said. She frowned. “So they definitely came from somewhere on campus.”

“That's a tough question to answer…” Mark said. “The only place I can remotely think of would be the kitchen, but again, we know that nobody did that…”

“There are matches in the kitchen?” Ella asked.

“We're not totally sure on that,” Mark said. “I mean, nobody's actually fully checked out the kitchen, have they?”

“Actually… yeah, the kitchen has been checked out,” Joel said. “The clean-up group I was in put all the stuff back in the kitchen, right?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Ben said. “The group was you, me, and Marian, right?”

Joel nodded. “And I remember seeing some matchboxes in there, definitely.”

“Where, exactly?” Ben asked. “I can't think of…” He trailed off, lost in thought. Then his eyes grew wide. “Oh wait! The utensil cabinet!”

“Utensil cabinet?” Chelsea asked.

“Y-yeah,” Ben said. “Well, actually, it doesn't have utensils in it, but it's beneath the utensil drawer where they keep forks and knives and all that. There's a bunch of stuff like that down there – matches, cooking oil, cleaning products…”

“The one… near the sink, right?” Ella asked.

“Yeah,” Joel said. “You know it?”

“…Yeah,” Ella said uneasily. “I'm familiar.”

“Oh,” Wyatt said. “That's the place where you and Shauna hid that knife and screwdriver, right?”

“Yes,” Ella said flatly. “But that isn't very relevant, and I'd rather not keep talking about the murder I helped to commit.”

“Okay,” Wyatt said. “But more importantly, matches in the kitchen.”

“If that's the case, then that pretty much confirms that it was premeditated to a greater extent than I thought,” John said.

“The only problem is… can we really link the matches to someone?” Mark asked.

“Maybe we can look at the members of the kitchen group, like we did with Nina's group?” Carlos suggested.”

“…I'm not sure there,” Marian said. “We already know that Ben and I are innocent, and I distinctly recall that Joel never seemed particularly interested in the matches at all – plus, I'm fairly certain that there was no missing inventory. So if anything, it's more likely that the matches are designed to frame us rather than implicate us.”

“That… pretty much sucks,” Joel said. “How many people here has the culprit tried to frame?”

“That's a good question!” Naomi said. “Let's see… I think pretty much everyone who wasn't in the cafeteria at the time of the murder.”

“Wait,” Chelsea said. “So does that mean that it's someone from the cafeteria trying to set everyone else up?”

“That's as good as impossible,” Marian said. “There's no motive _or_ method there.”

“I am worried about one thing, though,” Melissa said. “The culprit definitely got those matches from the kitchen, didn't they? So… I'm wondering when they did that.”

“There's also the bottle problem,” Ben said. “We know that they didn't get it from the textile building, so it must have been from the kitchen, too.”

“John,” Ella said. “In your analysis of the crime, you said that the culprit's actions were premeditated by only a few hours at most, right?”

“…Yes, I did,” John said. “It's likely that the phone call was an impulsive action, and they only really started planning a little after that.”

“So any time from this morning onwards, really,” Mark said.

“Yes,” John said. “Only…”

“Only what?” Marian asked.

John looked uneasy. “Only… there's never been an opportunity for the culprit to enter the kitchen on their own. This morning, everyone was in there together, then the only people to enter after that were those in the clean-up group, and then the six of us were in the cafeteria since.”

“So… how did the culprit get the stuff then?” Joel asked.

“That's definitely a problem,” Wyatt said. “So if nobody entered the kitchen at any point, then how the hell did they get access to all that?”

“There's a hidden entrance?” Naomi suggested. “In that case, the culprit could have slipped in through there and back out without any problems, and then… uh…”

“You're making assumptions again,” Dirk said. “Think: what would be the simplest solution?”

“…Someone just entered the kitchen normally?” Joel said.

“Exactly,” Dirk said.

“But… nobody entered the kitchen!” Naomi said. “So how do we deal with that problem?!”

“Actually…” Mark said with something akin to dread. “If I remember, there was _one_ person who entered the kitchen…” He looked away uncomfortably. “But…”

Mark frowned. “They… they couldn't have done it.”

Dirk looked at him with a blank expression. “That's under the assumption that this person didn't do it. Look, you're all overcomplicating this case more than you need to: the solution's actually quite simple.”

“But… but still…” Mark said. “I can't… I can't make an accusation like that…”

“If it helps, I'll throw in a piece of evidence I discovered on my own,” Dirk said.

“A piece of evidence?” Marian said sternly. “When you said you were going to the bathroom?”

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “I went to the bathroom to investigate. I needed some time to myself to think before the trial, and to follow a suspicion of mine.”

“So what did you find?” Ella asked.

“Remember that locked door in the hallway?” Dirk said. “Turns out it's another entrance into the bathrooms. If you use that, you could slip through to the IT room and back in under five minutes for sure.”

“Under… under five minutes…” Naomi said. “Wait. _Wait_.” She started to tremble.

“Naomi?” Wyatt said. “You all right?”

Naomi shook her head. “N-no… No I'm not,” she said.

“What's wrong?” Carlos asked.

“T-the culprit…” Naomi said shakily. “I think… no, I _know_ who it is…!”

“Again?” Ben said.

“Naomi…” Mark said. “You're… talking about the person I saw go into the kitchen, aren't you?”

“Y-yeah…” Naomi said. She let out a sob. “God… it can't be…”

“Wait,” Carlos said. “So someone really went into the kitchen?”

“Yes, they did,” Dirk said. “Mark made it fairly clear in his testimony that someone went into the kitchen on their own at some point.”

“Who?” Joel asked.

“Yeah,” Wyatt said. “Could you fill the rest of us in? Not everyone had the luxury of being in the cafeteria all day.”

“Tell them, Mark,” Dirk said. “Might as well get this accusation out in the open right now. No point in dragging it out unnecessarily.”

“S-still…” Mark said. “I don't… I don't want to believe it. I _can't_ believe it.”

“B-but it makes sense, doesn't it?” Naomi said. “Someone… who went to the cafeteria, _and_ could use the bathroom short-cut… It's horrible… _so_ horrible… but it's the only thing that makes sense, isn't it?”

“Okay, you're getting more and more vague with every word,” Ben said. “So I'd appreciate it if you could just spit it out and fill us in… no matter how awful it is.”

“Yeah,” Ella said, vaguely uneasy. “The truth… running away from it won't get anyone anywhere. So we have to face it, no matter what… No matter how painful, how horrible it might be to doubt a friend like this, it's the only way, so please… for the sake of everyone else, for their survival, you need to say this.”

Mark looked away, pained. “I-I guess,” he said. “So… if we take both those facts into account, then… then the culprit… that person… they… it could only be…!”

-

**SELECT A STUDENT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternative chapter titles include "guess nobody's straight now lol" and "macklemore didn't die for this homophobic hate crime of an accusation".


	19. Occam's Razor (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait! i kinda had a huge depressive spell for a while and stopped working on this chapter about halfway through, so forgive it for being a little rough around the edges. and if there are any gaping holes in the logic as a result of me not working on it for so long, let me know!
> 
> i also want to say thanks to those who've stuck with the story despite its abysmal update schedule - i truly appreciate it! so let's get into the third act of the second trial!

**SELECT A STUDENT!**

[ **CHELSEA DENNIS** ]

Mark: It can only be you…!

**BREAK!**

-

“The… the culprit who killed Nina…” Mark began shakily. “It has to be…”

“S-so… it really is…?” Naomi asked, a dejected look in her eyes.

Mark nodded uneasily. “…Yeah, it is,” he said. “Chelsea… it's you, isn't it?”

“Y-you're shitting me…” Chelsea said. “Please, for the love of fuck tell me this isn't happening.”

“I'm so sorry, Chelsea,” Mark said. A deeply troubled expression crossed his face. “But it all fits. You entered the kitchen earlier, just before your dev session, didn't you?”

“Okay, so this is happening,” Chelsea said, her dryness quickly gaining a hysterical edge. “You're really actually fucking doing this.”

“And, the object you got from the kitchen…” Mark said. “It was a bottle of Coke, wasn't it? A _glass_ bottle.”

“That… really doesn't sound good,” Naomi said with a heavy frown.

“That _would_ fit perfectly with the size and consistency of Nina's head wound,” Ella said.

“Chelsea,” Marian said. “Do you have a response to these accusations?”

Chelsea folded her arms and looked to the side. “I don't know what you guys want me to do,” she said. “Like, no offence, but I'm not gonna throw a Wyatt-scale shitfit over this, so I'll just say it as it is: you're all completely fucking off the mark here.”

“Shitfit… wow, okay,” Wyatt said. “I'm not even offended at this point.”

“I… I don't think that's exactly the case here,” Mark said. “Chelsea… there's a lot of evidence that points towards you being the killer.”

“You are, of course, welcome to prove us wrong,” John said uneasily.

“I guess so,” Chelsea said with a forced shrug. “I mean, I know I'm completely not the culprit, but if you all wanna spend the next half hour grilling me like fuck, who am I to stop you?”

“You know being obtuse is a really flimsy defence, right?” Dirk said.

“You also know that I'm not the fucking culprit, right?” Chelsea shot back.

“That remains to be seen,” Dirk said airily. “You haven't even offered any kind of argument for your innocence yet.”

“Y-yeah,” Mark said. “Since we have so much proof for your guilt, it kinda falls on you to provide proof of your innocence…”

“Well, like, I can't just pull out some magic name-clearing evidence from nowhere,” Chelsea said. “So I guess I'll do this the hard way – I'll just prove to you that every last one of your arguments is wrong!”

“You're really confident in your own innocence,” John commented.

“And? Why wouldn't I be?” Chelsea said. “I know for a _fact_ that I didn't do it, and I really fucking doubt you can actually prove otherwise.”

“That remains to be seen,” Ella said.

“Well, I'm ready!” Chelsea said. “My ears are wide open, so let's hear what kind of bullshit argument you have against me!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Body Discovery Time, Chelsea's Account, Vending Machine, Glass Shards, Hallway Door**

Chelsea: So, I'm the culprit?!

Chelsea: That's really what you're thinking?!

Mark: Y-yeah…

Mark: Believe me, I don't want to do this, but…

Mark: The evidence fits far too well…

Chelsea: Like fuck it does!

Chelsea: You're literally basing this accusation off **two pieces of evidence**!

Dirk: Ignoring my evidence for now…

Dirk: Chelsea, did you or did you not get a glass bottle of Coke from the kitchen?

Chelsea: …I'm not denying that fact, 'cause that'd be stupid.

Chelsea: But to assume that doing that makes me the killer?!

Chelsea: Now, that's something _actually_ stupid!

Chelsea: Like, yeah, I got the bottle…

Chelsea: But there's **no proof** it was used to attack Nina!

Chelsea: And if you can't prove that…

Chelsea: Then you sure as fuck can't prove I killed her!

**Answer: Glass Shards → “no proof”**

Ella: You've got that wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“…Is there really no proof that Chelsea's Coke bottle was used in the attack on Nina?” Ella said.

“O-obviously!” Chelsea said, running a hand through her hair. “What kinda question is that?!”

“Well… I'm not so sure that's the case,” Ella said. “Do you remember the shards of glass on the floor around Nina's body?”

“W-well obviously,” Chelsea said. “Again, though, there's no way to prove I had anything to do with it!”

“Actually, there is,” Ella said. “Marian, you recall what the glass was like during the investigation, don't you?”

“Well, yes,” Marian said.

“In that case, you also know why the glass shards point to Chelsea, specifically,” Ella said.

“You're… talking about the property the glass had, right?” Marian said.

Ella nodded.

“Yeah, that's great,” Carlos said. “But could you fill the rest of us in here?”

“Of course,” Marian said. “There's one thing specifically about the glass that would make sense if it originally was part of Chelsea's Coke bottle.”

-

[The glass was heavy / The glass shattered easily / **The glass was stained on one side** ]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“…The shards of glass were stained on one side,” Marian said. “I'm sure you all know what happens when you leave any kind of coloured soda in a glass for too long, right?”

“It sticks to the surface and faintly stains it with whatever colour the soda was,” Melissa said.

“Marian,” Naomi said. “What colour _was_ the stain on the glass, anyway?”

“If I recall correctly, there was a faint brown stain on one side,” Marian said.

“And, you said the drink was Coke, right?” Ben said. “In that case… Chelsea's drink matches with the shards of glass perfectly, right?”

“It certainly seems that way,” John said.

“So,” Mark said. “The likely course of events is that Chelsea smashed the bottle over Nina's head, right?” He looked uneasy. “If it was full with enough liquid and grabbed with enough force, it would account for the type of injury Nina received…”

“Shit,” Chelsea said. “God fucking shit.”

“I think it's irrefutable at this point,” Marian said heavily. “The object used to administer Nina's head wound… was Chelsea's drink.”

“Your thoughts, Chelsea?” John asked.

“Okay, well, that's…” Chelsea said. “I'm really not in a position to argue with you guys – that theory's pretty sound.”

Mark shot her a worried look. “So are you—”

“ _Except_ for one thing,” Chelsea said. “And that's that you're all assuming _I_ did it.”

“Did… you not?” Wyatt said. “Because from where I'm standing, you're looking pretty damn incriminated to me.”

“God, you're all fucking idiots,” Chelsea said. “Just because the drink was mine doesn't mean I was the one who used it as a fucking murder weapon, obviously.”

“Obviously…” Ella said. “I apologise, but what's so obvious about that logic?”

Chelsea looked irritated. “I mean, obviously I didn't take the bottle with me when I left with Joel, so that means that literally anyone could have used it, really.”

“Hm,” Ella said. “Is that really the case?”

“What do you mean?” Chelsea said. “Of course that's the case!”

“Sorry, I was just wondering,” Ella said. “If you were Nina's killer and you were entering the IT room for the first time that afternoon, would hitting her over the head with a random glass bottle really be your first thought?” She looked away in thought. “Especially considering that this crime was almost certainly premeditated to some extent.”

“W-well maybe that's wrong, too!” Chelsea countered. “Maybe it was a complete spur-of-the-moment thing after all!”

“…That's highly unlikely,” John said.

“Oh? And what makes you so sure?” Chelsea said.

“I think I'm uniquely qualified to say whether or not any given crime is premeditated or not,” John said. “It is part of my talent, after all.”

“Your… talent?” Chelsea said.

“Let's not feign ignorance,” John said “Everyone here knows that I am officially the Enhanced Talent Level Empath, and I've told you all on at least one occasion how said talent actually functions.” He looked almost irritated by the time he was done.

“Okay yeah,” Chelsea said. “But that doesn't automatically mean you're right! You could have gotten this one wrong! Ever think about that?!”

“Wow…” Wyatt said with a cruel smirk. “What was that about not throwing a Wyatt-scale shitfit?”

“You can shut your mouth,” Chelsea said darkly.

“H-hey, Chelsea…” Naomi said. “Getting mad won't really fix anything, okay? And it really isn't helping to prove you innocent, either…”

“Shitting Christ,” Chelsea said. “I don't _need_ to prove myself innocent when I'm not guilty of anything in the first place! Honestly!”

“Anyway,” Marian said. “We have no reason to doubt either John's ability or his analysis of the crime, so let's not try to divert from this matter of fact.”

“I was only…” Chelsea tried to say.

“That's beside the point,” Marian said. “We were discussing how completely unlikely it is that an individual who hadn't already been in the IT room would think to use a glass bottle as part of their plan.”

“W-well, they could've been desperate!” Chelsea said. “If the confrontation went wrong then…”

“What confrontation?” Ella asked. “We've already established that there's no evidence of a struggle.”

“O-okay…” Chelsea said, brushing her hair out of her face. “Still! That doesn't actually mean that I did it, okay!”

“Either way, let's look at it objectively,” Dirk said. “You supplied the glass bottle, and you left it at the scene for the culprit to use in order to kill Nina, regardless of whoever that culprit may or may not be. So at best, you'd be classed as an accomplice here, really.”

“That's… that's…” Chelsea said. “D-don't fucking say shit like that… I had nothing to do with this fucking murder!”

“…Okay,” Dirk said. “Just wondering, though. Do you have any other defence, or is screaming to us that you're innocent all you've got?”

“Fucking…” Chelsea said. She pounded her fists together. “Fucking _yeah_ I have more! If you want another fucking argument, then that's what you're gonna fucking get, 'cause I'm not stopping until you all realise that I'm not the fucking culprit!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Glass Shards, Chelsea's Account, Crawlspace, Telephone Timer, Headband**

Chelsea: Here's a fucking argument for you!

Chelsea: I'm **not the goddamn culprit**!

Dirk: …As you've been saying.

Chelsea: Well, yeah! I'm only telling the truth!

Mark: I'm not too sure…

Mark: I mean, you can't deny that **your bottle** was used to give Nina that head injury…

Carlos: And, **your alibi** is kinda shaky at best…

Carlos: Which… doesn't really help, either…

Chelsea: My alibi?!

Chelsea: You mean the thing that was perfectly fucking valid until like ten minutes ago?!

John: Only because in light of recent revelations, your alibi doesn't hold up as well.

Chelsea: That's because you all decided that!

Chelsea: Besides, it's not like my alibi's **unconfirmed** or anything!

Chelsea: Joel, you can vouch for me, right?!

Joel: Well… I mean…

Joel: I was keeping watch over the bathrooms while you were in there…

Joel: So… I'd probably notice if you tried to sneak past me.

Chelsea: Exactly!

Joel: B-but when you think about…

Chelsea: And if that's all you guys have, then you might as well give up!

Chelsea: Trying to pin me as the culprit based on a glass bottle, some accusations, and **nothing else**!

Chelsea: It's fucking laughable, really!

Ella: …Is it really nothing else?

Mark: What does that mean?

Ella: …

Ella: I was just thinking over the evidence again and wondering if anything else could fit.

Chelsea: And does it?! Like at all?!

Ella: …I'm not so certain.

Chelsea: Ha! Give it up already!

Chelsea: If the resident killer herself can't come up with anything, then it's really a lost cause!

Wyatt: Low blow there, Chelsea, low blow…

Carlos: So… that's it, huh?

Carlos: There's not much more we can do here, then…

Chelsea: Exactly!

Chelsea: So just accept that I'm innocent, and let's move on with this trial!

**Answer: Headband → “nothing else”**

Marian: No, you're wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“I think it's safe to say that there is in fact something else,” Marian said.

“Really, huh?!” Chelsea said. “I mean, it's probably bullshit, but okay!”

“Anyway,” Marian said. “I've noticed that throughout this trial you've been repeatedly adjusting your hair.”

“Uh, okay, so?” Chelsea asked.

“Of course…!” John said to himself.

“I just find that a little odd,” Marian said. “Up until now, that's never been a problem.”

“…Okay?” Chelsea said.

“I also want to know something else,” Marian said. “When did you decide to stop wearing your headband, Chelsea?”

“Uh…I…” Chelsea said, instinctively moving a hand to adjust her hair again. “That's… well…”

“Oh yeah!” Wyatt said. “Now you mention it, Chelsea's not had her headband on at all during this trial!”

“Shit… I…” Chelsea said. Her face was quickly going pale.

“I'd argue it goes even further than that,” Ella said. “She's been without it ever since the investigation, too.”

“So really, since Nina's murder,” Ben said. “Hm.”

“Gh…” Chelsea said, folding her arms.

“And, what's more,” Marian said. “We happened to find said discarded headband during the investigation.”

“You did?” Carlos asked. “Where?”

“Yeah,” Joel said. “Like, where would you even go about looking for something like that?”

“We discovered it hidden in the bookcase outside the IT room,” Marian said. “Along with a box of matches.”

“M-matches?!” Melissa said.

“And that's not all,” Marian said. “The headband also happened to have a pretty noticeable bloodstain on it.”

“O-oh God…” Chelsea said. “That's… that's fucking…”

John frowned. “That evidence seems pretty conclusive,” he said.

“H-hey,” Chelsea said, breaking out in a nervous sweat. “You're not… you're not gonna…”

“I'm sorry,” Marian said. “But this evidence doesn't point to anybody else.”

“Y-yeah…” Naomi said. “It… it really seems likely Chelsea was behind it all…” She breathed shakily. “I… I mean, it's totally possible for her to have done everything, and…”

“H-hey!” Chelsea shouted. “Hold the fucking phone right there!”

“…Huh?” Naomi said.

“Yeah!” Chelsea continued. “That point of yours is completely fucking wrong!”

“I-it is?!” Naomi said.

“Absolutely it's wrong!” Chelsea said. “Because… because there's no way I could have done everything the culprit did!”

“Really now,” Wyatt said. “I kinda doubt that. I mean, between the secret bathroom passageway and the pretty goddamn incriminating hairband, I think it's safe to say you're completely capable of being behind everything.”

“No, I'm really fucking not!” Chelsea said. “Have you _assholes_ all really forgotten already?!”

“Forgotten… what?” Marian said.

“The biggest fucking part of this entire case!” Chelsea said. “The fire!”

“The fire?” Mark said.

“I'm not following,” Ella said. “You were completely capable of starting that fire – we found the matchbox hidden with your headband, which gives you a perfectly valid means of doing it.”

“Christ! You're all fucking dumbasses!” Chelsea snapped. “I'm not talking about that shit! I'm talking about the fact that the fucking sprinklers had to be turned off first!”

“Well, yeah,” Mark said. “I don't see how—”

“Think back to the time they were shut off at!” Chelsea said, glaring.

“Uh, that… it was two-thirty-one…” Charlie said.

“Pre-fucking-cisely!” Chelsea said. “So there! Case closed! I'm innocent!”

“I really don't see how…” Melissa said.

“Jesus fuck! Fine!” Chelsea said. “Guess I'll have to explain this in painstaking detail too!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Headband, Matchbox, Bookcase, Locked Room, Sprinkler System**

Chelsea: For anyone who doesn't get how **the sprinklers prove me innocent** …

Chelsea: Listen the fuck up!

Marian: We're listening.

Chelsea: Just fucking think about it!

Chelsea: The sprinklers were **disabled at 14:31** …

Chelsea: But at that time, I was walking through the fucking hallways with Joel!

Joel: Y-yeah… that's true…

Joel: We definitely **left at 14:30** … I think.

Ella: You think?

Joel: N-no… I'm pretty certain.

Chelsea: See! There you fucking have it!

Chelsea: I'm one minute off! So I **couldn't have done it**!

Charlie: O-oh…

Charlie: That's… that really is a problem, isn't it…?

Chelsea: Not fucking really! Just means I'm innocent!

Carlos: I mean…

Carlos: We can't really doubt that, can we?

Carlos: If Joel's certain of the timing, too, then…

Dirk: One moment.

Dirk: Joel, I'd like to ask you something.

Joel: Me?

Dirk: Yeah.

Dirk: I want to know what makes you certain that you left the IT room at 14:30.

Joel: Well… that's…

Joel: … **Chelsea told me** that when she was finished with Nina.

Chelsea: Bastard…!

Dirk: I see.

Dirk: And what did she do between finishing her session and leaving with you?

Joel: If I remember…

Joel: She put her drink down at the **back of the room** …

Joel: Then she headed out with me.

Joel: She took maybe **twenty seconds** there?

Dirk: Okay.

Dirk: You're sure of this?

Joel: Well, yeah…

Joel: Unless, like, **Chelsea was lying** at that point, but…

Joel: I'm not seeing it…

Chelsea: Okay, I can't tell if you're trying to defend me here or condemn me.

Marian: If anything, he's helping us reach the truth.

Chelsea: Ugh! You mean the fucking bullshit false truth you keep riding the dick of?!

Wyatt: _Wow_ , Chelsea…

Chelsea: Shut the fuck up!

Chelsea: Either fucking way, I couldn't have done it!

Chelsea: Discussion finished!

**Answer: “Chelsea was lying” → “left at 14:30”**

Melissa: No, that's wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“The solution to this dilemma… I think it can be solved quite easily,” Melissa said.

“Can it?” Marian asked.

“Yes,” Melissa said. “…If Chelsea was lying about the time.”

“Fucking _fuck_!” Chelsea shouted.

“You really think she was?” Joel said. “But… I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed if the time was off by too much?”

“She wouldn't have needed to fabricate the time like that,” Melissa said. “You were maybe one or two minutes off at best.”

“One or two minutes?” Naomi said. “That's such a tiny amount of time… why even bother with lying about it?”

“I… I get why,” Carlos said. “It's to do with creating an alibi for the sprinklers, isn't it?”

“Exactly that,” Melissa said. “You see, if Chelsea lied about the time to Joel, it effectively creates quite the solid alibi; Joel would have no reason to doubt her, and with both their words, it means we're all more likely to believe they were both out of there before the sprinklers were disabled.”

“So… so you're saying that Chelsea disabled the sprinklers _before_ she left the IT room?” Mark said.

“Gh – I—I didn't fucking…” Chelsea tried to say.

“But then… wouldn't Nina have noticed?” Mark asked. “Or… even Joel?”

Joel frowned. “…I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't really pay attention to Chelsea – I didn't think she would ever…”

“Well, okay,” Wyatt said. “But even so, both of them didn't notice? Really?”

“Again, it probably goes back to the fact that neither of them would be expecting Chelsea to do anything suspicious,” Melissa said. “Putting her drink down at the back of the room is hardly suspicious on its own.”

“I think I'm on-board with your theory,” Ben said. “But I just wonder – is there any proof that Chelsea fabricated the time? Or that she would be preoccupied with the time, like at all?”

“Y-yeah…” Naomi said. “It seems strange that it hasn't come up until now…”

“Actually… I think it has,” Melissa said. “Or more accurately, I suppose we could say where it _hasn't_ come up.”

“What are you getting at here?” Ben asked.

“Sorry,” Melissa said. “I got ahead of myself a little there – I'll explain it first.”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

M S T E I S O N E I T

**Answer: TESTIMONIES**

Melissa: This makes sense of it!

**BREAK!**

-

“I'm talking specifically about Chelsea's and Joel's testimonies,” Melissa said. “Marian, could you go over them again for clarification purposes? It'll be easier to explain after that.”

“Well… okay,” Marian said. “Chelsea and Joel both gave matching accounts of this afternoon – they both left the IT room at two-thirty, then stopped for a bathroom break. Chelsea used the bathroom first while Joel kept watch, and then Joel went to the bathroom with Chelsea keeping watch. The only difference between the two is…” Her face turned pale. “Chelsea gave precise timings, while Joel did not.”

“Yeah, that's what I'm getting at,” Melissa said. “It makes sense for Joel not to know exactly when everything happened – after finding the body of your friend, that kind of shock would obviously impact your recollection.” She frowned, nervously playing with her bag's strap. “So… that's why I find it a little strange that Chelsea can remember the exact time that each event occurred, down to the minute.”

“Of course,” John said. “Fabricated facts would stick in the memory better.” He gave an uneasy look. “And… if you had no reason to be as shocked by finding the body, then of course you'd be able to recall the timings.”

“S-shit…” Chelsea said.

“This keeps looking worse and worse for you by the second,” Wyatt said. “I mean, a bloody headband, a box of matches, and now lying about the time?” He tutted. “And I thought _I_ was making myself look suspicious…”

“Y-you can shut your goddamn mouth,” Chelsea shot back. “I have nothing to hide here!”

“…Okay then,” Dirk said, almost bored. “Then mind explaining away the evidence against you?”

“With fucking pleasure!” Chelsea said. “I don't know how many times I'll have to do this, but I won't stop until you realise you're all fucking wrong!”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Headband, Matchbox, Chelsea's Account, Telephone Timer, Hallway Door**

Chelsea: All this evidence you think you have…

Chelsea: Doesn't prove shit!

Marian: Fine then.

Marian: Care to explain the bloody headband?

Chelsea: …I must have **lost it**.

Wyatt: Yeah, because we're really gonna buy that.

Chelsea: I don't fucking know!

Chelsea: Maybe it **fell off** or something!

John: …

John: I think we can narrow this one down.

John: Joel.

Joel: Huh?

John: Was Chelsea wearing her headband during her session with Nina?

Joel: I—I think…?

Joel: I don't remember her _not_ having it…

John: Did she have it on when you found the body?

Joel: Huh, that's…

Charlie: …No, I… I don't think she did…

Naomi: Oh yeah! Charlie was there too!

Charlie: S-something seemed off, but…

Charlie: Well, I didn't really think about it, since…

Charlie: There were other things going on as well…

Marian: And I see no reason for Charlie to lie.

Marian: So it stands that you lost it somewhere between leaving the IT room and discovering Nina's body.

Chelsea: Okay, so?

Chelsea: Whether or not I was wearing it is irrelevant!

Chelsea: My headband had **nothing to do with the murder**!

Dirk: …This is a dead end.

Marian: In that case…

Marian: What about the matchbox?

Chelsea: Hell if I fucking know!

Chelsea: I've **never seen** those matches before!

Carlos: But…

Carlos: They were with the headband, weren't they?

Chelsea: …You mean the headband I lost?

Chelsea: So again – **nothing to do with me**!

Marian: Hm.

John: …

John: Maybe…

John: Maybe we don't have to rely on physical evidence here.

Marian: What do you mean?

Chelsea: Yeah, what?!

John: I mean…

John: Maybe there's _**something else**_ we can use to prove Chelsea's involvement…

John: Even if it wasn't necessarily at the scene of the crime…

Chelsea: What the fuck are you talking about?!

John: …

Chelsea: If you can't speak up, then I get the final word!

Chelsea: Your evidence is bullshit and I'm not the culprit!

**Answer: Telephone Timer → “** _**something else** _ **”**

Ella: You have that right!

**BREAK!**

-

“That's… that's it!” Ella said. “There _is_ another piece of evidence that can't be disproved so easily!”

“Ah, you've realised it too?” John said.

Ella nodded. “If… if we're talking about the same thing here,” she said. “The phone, right?”

John nodded.

“Hold up – _what?!_ ” Chelsea exclaimed. “What the fuck do you mean, the phone?!”

“The motive?” Marian said. “What are you getting at here?”

“I'm saying that if we can prove that Chelsea used the phone, then we don't need to worry so much about arguing over smaller pieces of evidence,” Ella explained.

“You think you can do that?” Marian asked.

“Yeah… I'm doubtful,” Wyatt said. “I mean, the call was made at two in the morning, so how can you prove anything either way?”

“Quite easily, actually,” Ella said. “All you need to do is consider the timing.”

“That… literally means nothing, but okay,” Wyatt said. “I'm not gonna argue with you – you're like one of the only actually competent people at this whole trial thing anyway.”

“…Thank you, I guess?” Ella said. She shook her head. “Anyway, back to my point.” She looked to Chelsea. “Chelsea, since you've so spectacularly managed to remember the precise timings for all your actions during the span of the murder, you shouldn't have any trouble telling us where you were and what you were doing at precisely two-thirty-eight.”

“Uh,” Chelsea said, hesitant. “I… Like, I was…”

“I… I think I can fill in there,” Joel said. “Around two-forty, right?” He folded his arms in thought. “That'd be… right around when we were using the bathrooms.”

“So, it was likely the both of you weren't together at that time,” Ella said. “Which means that nobody can say exactly where you were at the moment the timer stopped.” She half-shrugged. “Ergo, any alibi you may have is no longer valid.”

“H-hey! Fuck you!” Chelsea said. “By that logic, Joel's just as suspicious as I am!”

“H-huh?” Joel said, eyes going wide. “I'm…?”

Ella shook her head. “No,” she said. “Joel's not the culprit.”

“And how exactly can you be sure of this?!” Chelsea demanded.

“Think it over,” Ella said. “There's nothing at all in the evidence that remotely points to his involvement, and his alibi otherwise checks out pretty well.” Her face darkened. “Plus, he hasn't been the one using underhanded manipulation tactics this entire trial to pin the crime on someone else.”

“Th-thanks for the vote of confidence…” Joel said nervously.

“No, no – what the _fuck_!?” Chelsea shrieked. “How fucking _dare_ you! Me, underhanded?! What the literal screaming fuck!”

“I beg to differ,” Ella said, oddly calm. “You were pushing for the vote within five minutes of the trial opening when we hadn't even started to discuss any evidence, obviously choosing me as a scapegoat due to my prior suspicion in the last trial.”

“Oh! Oh! So that's what this is!” Chelsea snapped. “This is your petty fucking revenge ploy! You're trying to pin me as the culprit because you're pissed I thought you were guilty!”

“That's… that's not…” Ella began.

“Bullshit that's not it!” Chelsea shot back. “This is literally you getting personal! Fuck you!”

“If you would just _listen_ ,” Ella tried to say.

“No! No fucking way!” Chelsea said. “I don't have to listen to a single shitting word you're saying!”

-

**REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN!**

**Evidence Blades: Campus Distance, Headband, Locked Room, Loud Noise, Chelsea's Account**

Chelsea: This entire accusation…

Chelsea: Is nothing more than a personal grudge against me!

Chelsea: I mean, if you think about it _objectively…_

Chelsea: There's no real fucking evidence against me!

**ADVANCE!**

Ella: No real evidence?

Ella: Are you sure that's the case?

Chelsea: Pretty fucking much! Yeah!

Chelsea: It's all bullshit!

Chelsea: The bloody headband…

Chelsea: Bullshit! **I lost it**!

Chelsea: The glass bottle…

Chelsea: Bullshit again! **Anyone could have used it**!

Chelsea: The timing of my actions…

Chelsea: Bullshit! **No way I could have made it there and back in time**!

Chelsea: And the motive…

Chelsea: Bullshit! **There's no evidence I touched that goddamn motherfucking phone**!

Chelsea: So, as you can see…

Chelsea: All your logic is bullshit! Complete bullshit!

Chelsea: Just admit it already…

Chelsea: This is all because you won't let a dumb fucking grudge die!

**Answer: Campus Distance → “No way I could have made it there and back in time”**

Ella: Your claims are all wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“Is that really your argument?” Ella asked. “That you couldn't have moved from the bathrooms to the IT room and back in time?”

“Well… fucking yeah!” Chelsea said. “Who the fuck can move like that in the time limit we have?! You'd have what, ten minutes? No fucking way is that enough time!”

“…Hm,” Ella said. “I think I can dispute that point.”

“H-how?!” Chelsea replied.

“Naomi,” Ella said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Me again?” Naomi said. “Wow, I sure do seem to be used for evidence a lot here…”

“Anyway,” Ella said. “You gave us some important information regarding how much time it would take to move across the campus, did you not?”

“Y-yeah, I did,” Naomi said.

“In that case,” Ella said. “How much time does it take the average person to get from the IT room to outside the central building?”

“Huh?” Naomi said. “Let's see… that would be roughly…” She paused, thinking. “Five minutes?”

“You're certain?” Ella asked.

Naomi nodded. “Definitely,” she said. “I mean… that's why I figured it was Chelsea in the first place, you know? It would only take like a minute to move back and forth between the bathrooms and the IT room, so five minutes is more than enough time!”

“Gh!” Chelsea uttered, flinching back. “That doesn't fucking mean anything, damn it!”

“I think it does, unfortunately,” Marian said. “It means that you have the means and the method to commit the murder.”

“The only thing left would be motive, in a standard mystery,” Melissa said. “So if we can prove that…”

“Ha! You fucking can't!” Chelsea said, suddenly confident again. “The motive is that fucking phone, and you can't prove that I have jack shit to do with it!”

“…Can we really not?” Ella asked.

“No! You can't!” Chelsea said. “We just got done establishing that you can't prove it!”

“I know,” Ella said. “But maybe…”

“Besides,” Wyatt said. “We only got onto _that_ discussion because you deflected the topic from our initial discussion of the phone in the first place.”

“You think you're so high and fucking mighty, don't you?!” Chelsea shot back. “Just because you've been proven innocent…!”

Wyatt shrugged. “Eh,” he said. “Lose your chill all you like, I don't care.”

“Anyway,” Marian said. “Back to the topic at hand. You think there could be a way to connect Chelsea to the phone?”

“I do,” Ella said. “It's not evidence, exactly, but… If you think back to this morning, when we all discovered the phone had been used for the first time, and keep Chelsea in mind, then…”

“I'm not following,” Mark said. “What are you talking about here?”

“I think I get it,” Marian said. “You're talking about…”

-

[What Chelsea said / Where Chelsea went / **How Chelsea acted** ]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“…You're talking about the way Chelsea was acting, aren't you?” Marian said.

Ella nodded.

“H-how I was _acting_?!” Chelsea exclaimed. “I'd really like to fucking hear this one. How the fuck is that suspicious?!”

“…Because you were clearly guilty about it,” Ella said. “Think about it: you were the first person to jump to the conclusion that someone was going to die.”

“Well, duh!” Chelsea said. “That was literally what Monobear said when he gave out this piece of shit motive!”

“You did keep repeating the word 'betray', too,” John added. “It is more than a little strange that your initial response was _someone's going to die_ and _someone betrayed everyone_ rather than _did someone really use the phone_.”

“I… I mean, like,” Chelsea stuttered out. “Why would I waste time clarifying the obvious?! We've already been through this shitshow once before – is it really so unusual for me to jump to the worst case scenario?!”

“I admit, this is pure speculation,” Marian said. “But when you think about your behaviour in conjunction with your actions _and_ the murder, it suddenly becomes a lot more incriminating.”

“It's hard not to think that,” Ella said. “The way you are, _plus_ the motive _and_ the evidence… and the conclusion is pretty clear.”

“…” Chelsea frowned, beads of sweat rolling off her face. “…Shit, you really have me cornered, don't you?”

“Huh?” John said. “That's a sudden change in attitude.”

“Huh, I guess,” Chelsea said, softer. She looked uneasy.”You're all completely convinced. At this point, arguing would be fighting a losing battle.”

“Chelsea…?” Joel said.

“You're… giving up?” Naomi said.

“So, uh, yeah,” Chelsea said. “Look, if we're at the point where every little action I've done paints me as the killer, then what the fuck am I supposed to do? Scream bloody murder until the moment you all vote for me?” She frowned again. “So, I… Uh, I think I'm done arguing.”

“Uwah?!” Monobear suddenly said. “No Panic Talk Action with the ETL Ballerina?! Laaaaaaaame!”

“Uh, what are you even talking about…?” Mark said.

“Friggin' hell! Can't you bastards let me be meta in my _own_ story?!” Monobear snapped.

“N-not really…” Melissa said. “And I thought we'd already moved past the story metaphors, anyway…”

“Moving on!” Monobear announced. “I see what's going on here! So I am therefore vetoing this derailment before our little tangent completely brings the emotional tension of this trial to a screeching halt! Resume the previous discussion!” He motioned towards Chelsea with a growing blush on his face. “Upupu…”

“Wait, so Chelsea's admitting to it?!” Wyatt said with a raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“I mean, if that's what you wanna believe,” Chelsea said. “I know what I know, and I know what you guys believe.” Her expression grew steadily more uneasy. “So… if you absolutely wanna vote for me as the killer… then go ahead.”

“Ch-Chelsea…?” Charlie said.

Chelsea folded her arms defensively. “But let me say one more thing first.” She turned to look across the courtroom. “Marian.”

“Yes?” Marian said, her expression equally as troubled.

“Just… be sure that this is definitely what you believe when you call for the vote,” Chelsea said, her voice going flat. She wiped away the barest beginnings of tears. “I obviously can't convince you either way, but… a lot of people's lives rest on this decision.” She went still, looking to the floor. “That's all.”

“So then! That's the lackluster end of the ETL Ballerina's rebuttal!” Monobear announced. “Truly, this disappointing despair is palpable!” He grinned to himself, eye flashing. “If you bastards want to commence voting, just say the word!”

Marian frowned. “…”

“I mean, she pretty much said she can't argue our point,” Ben said. “So, do we really have much of a discussion left?”

“I… I guess not…” Joel said. “So… this is how it ends, huh…”

“Chelsea…” Naomi said. Betrayal and hurt crossed her face. “I… I can't…”

Ella let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, we're done here,” she said with a steely expression. “Marian?”

Marian didn't respond.

“Something wrong?” Ella asked.

Marian remained silent a moment longer.

“Hey, uh—”

“I think… this is too hasty,” Marian said. “Just… the evidence slots in _too_ neatly.” She looked troubled. “And with how Chelsea is right now… I think we should go over everything that happened, one more time, just to be sure.”

“…I guess,” Ella said sourly. “I mean, it's pretty obvious to me and everyone else, but if _you_ want to be sure…” She sighed. “Go ahead. Not like it'll change anything.”

Dirk raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Thank you,” Marian said. “This shouldn't take long – all we need is a quick recap to consolidate what we know of this case so far.”

-

**NON-STOP DEBATE!**

**Evidence Bullets: Monobear File #2, Chelsea's Account, Hallway Door, Blue Threads, Head Wound**

Marian: So, if we use the theory of Chelsea being the culprit…

Ella: “Theory”…

Ella: You can just say fact, you know.

Ella: You're allowed to jump to logical conclusions.

Wyatt: What crawled up your asshole and died?

Dirk: …

Marian: Anyway. Let's run through the timeline of events.

Ella: Let me.

Ella: To begin, Chelsea **used the phone** last night…

Ella: And as a result of this betrayal, had no choice but to kill.

Ella: She **selected Nina as her target** …

Ella: …Intending to kill her **during her dev session**.

Ella: She prepared for the murder by taking a glass bottle and a box of matches **from the kitchen**.

Ella: She **kept the matches on her** , but placed the bottle in the IT room to use later.

Ella: From there, she commenced with the dev session as usual, **until the end**.

Ella: Before she left with Joel, Chelsea **disabled the sprinkler system** …

Ella: And **lied about the time** to deflect any suspicion.

Ella: Then, while walking back to the cafeteria with Joel, **fabricated the need for a bathroom break**.

Ella: While in the bathroom…

Ella: Chelsea left through the door that acted as **a short-cut to the IT room** , with Joel none the wiser.

Ella: She then entered the IT room…

Ella: Where she proceeded to **hit Nina over the head with the bottle**.

Ella: Then, **she strangled Nina with her headband** …

Ella: And to round off the assault, **smashed her head into the computer**.

Ella: Once she was certain Nina was dead…

Ella: Chelsea **took the matches** …

Ella: …And set the IT room on fire.

Ella: After leaving the burning IT room, Chelsea **sealed it with the bookcase** …

Ella: And dumped the matches and headband **between the books** in an attempt to cover her tracks.

Ella: She then **returned through the hallway door** to the bathroom…

Ella: Where she presumably cleaned herself up before returning to Joel.

Ella: After that, she **feigned ignorance** throughout the investigation and the trial…

Ella: Until now.

Ella: There. That's the truth of what happened.

Ella: I really fail to see why we need to discuss this further. The evidence is solid.

Ella: Chelsea is the culprit. End of story.

**Answer: Blue Threads → “strangled Nina with her headband”**

Marian: No, you're wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“I wonder…” Marian said. “Could Chelsea have really strangled Nina with her headband?”

“H-huh…?” Ella said. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means there's a contradiction we've overlooked,” Marian said. “In our haste to accuse, _yet again_.”

Ella glared. “Go on, then,” she said bitterly. “What is this contradiction that somehow undermines the truth?”

“There's a discrepancy in the colours,” Marian said.

“What?” Ella replied. “What does that even mean?”

“Chelsea's headband is pink, correct?” Marian said.

Ella nodded. “Y-yeah,” she said.

“But,” Marian said. “The threads of fabric around Nina's neck are blue.”

“Oh yeah!” Naomi said. “I completely forgot about that!”

“That's…” Chelsea muttered to herself. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God…”

“Don't get your hopes up,” Dirk said critically. “You're not off the hook yet.”

“But, wait,” Joel said. “How could Nina have been strangled with Chelsea's headband if the threads aren't the right colour?”

“That does poke quite a sizeable hole into our understanding of the case,” Melissa mused.

“N-not necessarily…” Ella argued with a grimace. “I mean, her headband could be two-toned for all we know.” She folded her arms. “Did anybody actually physically check to make sure of that fact?”

“Well, no,” Marian said.

“Then you can't _disprove_ my theory either,” Ella said. “And it's not like we'll get the truth from Chelsea, either way.”

Chelsea went to open her mouth, but stopped.

“Still,” John said. “We need to move past this before we can convict Chelsea with any confidence.” He frowned. “Because if not her headband, then what did Chelsea use?”

“The answer to that should be fairly obvious,” Ella said. “She used another article of clothing, if we really can't say for definite that it was her headband.”

“Huh,” Marian said. “Can we really be sure of that?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ella countered.

“Well, it's just that your assertion conflicts with another piece of evidence,” Marian explained.

“Really now,” Ella replied flatly. “And what the hell could that be?”

-

[Loud Noise / State of Desk / **Wyatt's Analysis** ]

Marian: This proves it!

-

“In particular, I'm talking about Wyatt's analysis of the fabric,” Marian said.

“What about it,” Ella shot back, her eye twitching.

“If you recall,” Marian said. “Wyatt told us that the blue threads of fabric are made of a kind of material that isn't suitable to make clothing out of.” She looked across the courtroom. “Right?”

Wyatt nodded. “Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I might be shitty at keeping a secret, but I know my fabrics.”

“And since we have no reason to doubt his word now,” Marian said. “I think we can safely conclude that the fabric used to strangle Nina did not come from anything anyone is wearing.”

“But then… how does that explain the bloodstain on her headband?” Ella said. “Chelsea may not have used it, but it's still absolutely clear she was involved.” She took a shaky breath. “Arguing this point is a waste of time.”

“It's not, though,” Marian said. “If we can't be certain of all the facts, then we can't be certain of who the killer is. It's as simple as that.”

“But—” Ella said, letting out a noise of frustration. “That's the god-damn point! We are sure of this! Literally, everything points perfectly to Chelsea!” She slammed a fist on her podium. “There is _no other explanation_!”

“Ella—” Marian began.

“Not hearing it!” Ella said. “Your doubts are leading us astray! The truth is that Chelsea is the culprit, and that's that!” Her breathing grew increasingly laboured.

“If you would just listen—”

“ _Bullshit_!” Ella shouted. She pulled at her hair with an enraged expression. “ _You_ motherfucking listen! It was fucking Chelsea, end of god-fucking-damn discussion!” She let out an enraged wail.

“Whoa,” Mark said. “Ella, you okay?”

Ella ignored him, and instead continued to address Marian. “If I'm wrong, I'd like to hear it! Go on, _fucking tell me_ how the _fuck_ my argument could possibly be _wrong_! _I'm fucking waiting_!”

-

**PANIC TALK ACTION!**

**PHASE 1**

Ella: Chelsea's guilty!

Ella: Open your ears to the truth!

Ella: Arguing is pointless!

Ella: Just listen to me!

Ella: The evidence is a perfect fit!

**PHASE 2**

Ella: This is a waste of time!

Ella: How am I wrong?!

Ella: I'd like to hear a better explanation!

Ella: Your rebuttal is just noise!

Ella: She's completely suspicious!

**PHASE 3**

Ella: Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Ella: I know what the fuck I'm talking about!

Ella: I'd like to see _you_ do better!

Ella: Speak up – I can't hear you over the sound of your _bullshit_!

Ella: Why the fuck are you ignoring the truth?!

**FINISHING BLOW!**

Ella: The truth is that Chelsea is the culprit! There is no other fucking explanation!

THE

FRAMED

CULPRIT

BY

  


  


**Answer: FRAMED BY THE CULPRIT**

Marian: You've got that wrong!

**BREAK!**

-

“No,” Marian said. “There's another explanation for Chelsea's suspicion that you haven't explored yet.”

“ _Jesus shitfucking Christ_!” Ella screamed. “ _There really fucking isn't, you asswipe_!”

“Whoa,” Mark said. “Ella, you okay?”

Wyatt swirled his finger around his head, making a 'crazy' expression. “Wow, she really snapped, didn't she,” he said.

“That… can't be good for your blood pressure,” Naomi said.

“There is in fact another explanation, Ella,” Marian said. “And that is that Chelsea was framed.”

“She… _what_?!” Ella said. “You're serious?!”

“I'm with her,” Wyatt said, wide-eyed. “You think Chelsea was _framed_?”

“It's… a hunch I've had for a little while, now,” Marian said uncertainly. “Just… if you think about it, doesn't the evidence fit a little _too_ perfectly?”

“And what, exactly, does that mean?” Ella asked.

“I'm talking about how we just so happened to find Chelsea's headband poorly hidden in plain sight,” Marian said. “And how it was _Chelsea's_ bottle that just so happened to be one of the murder weapons.” She folded her arms. “Or how Nina's murder just so happened to occur after _Chelsea's_ session.”

“When you put it like that…” Melissa said. “Almost too much points to Chelsea.”

“It's like an evidence overkill,” Ben said.

“I don't buy it,” Ella said. “You say the headband was planted evidence, but explain the blood and the matchbox!”

“That's easy,” Marian said. “Chelsea wasn't lying when she said she lost it.”

Chelsea's eyes grew wide. “You… believe me?” she said.

John nodded. “Your demeanour barely fits the profile of a guilty party at this point,” he said. “In fact, Wyatt trying to defend himself carried more red flags than you.”

“That's…” Chelsea said.

“As I was saying,” Marian said. “It's very likely that Chelsea's headband simply fell off without her knowledge.”

“Yeah, because that's _totally_ likely,” Ella said. “She normally has that thing on pretty securely.”

“Actually, it is,” Marian said. “I'm not sure if you're aware of this fact, but before arriving at the cafeteria for her dev session, Chelsea was practising at the dance hall.”

“Oh yeah,” Mark said. “I remember her saying that.”

“I don't,” Wyatt said.

“That's because she was the last person to leave the cafeteria, apart from the six of us who stayed back,” Marian said. “You, being the first to leave, wouldn't have known.” She glanced in Ella's direction. “Nor would someone who hadn't been there at all.”

Ella averted her eyes. “…”

“So, if you think about it,” Marian said. “Isn't it perfectly reasonable that, in her rush to get over to the central building, Chelsea didn't fasten her headband properly? And as a result, it fell off during the dev session without her noticing?”

“I mean, you're just assuming…” Ella said, faltering.

“Maybe so,” Marian said. “But, in conjunction with the other evidence, it hardly seems to be a stretch.”

“… _Fine_ , what the fuck ever,” Ella growled. “She lost her fucking headband. But are you really forgetting about the matchbox?! Why would the killer put such incriminating evidence with supposedly false evidence?! Surely they'd just hide it instead!”

“Ella,” Dirk said. “Are you really forgetting?”

“Forgetting _what_?!” Ella snapped.

“Marian,” Dirk said. “You know what I'm on about. There's a specific detail about the matchbox we uncovered during the investigation that answers Ella's question.”

“During the investigation…” Marian said. Her eyes grew wide. “You don't mean…”

-

**FLASHING ANAGRAM!**

P E O U D N N E 

**Answer: UNOPENED**

Marian: This is what it means!

**BREAK!**

-

“The matchbox was unopened,” Marian breathed. “Dirk… you broke the seal during the investigation.”

“Yup,” Dirk said.

“Wait,” Naomi said. “So that means…?”

“The matchbox couldn't have been used in Nina's murder,” Marian said. “Which means… that was fake evidence, too.”

“What?!” Wyatt explained. “For real?!”

Marian nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “It seems that everything hidden in the bookcase was a fabrication designed to throw us off the scent.” Her gaze hardened. “This was the culprit's trap.”

“No…” Ella muttered. “That… that can't be…” She began to shake. “Then that would mean… Chelsea really didn't…”

“No, she didn't,” Dirk said. “Chelsea is completely and categorically innocent.”

“R-really?” Carlos asked.

“Oh God…” Ella said, growing pale.

“I'd say so,” John said. “Knowing what we do now about the headband and matchbox, there is nothing that indicates Chelsea is guilty at all.”

“Huh,” Chelsea said, frowning. “Okay, so the culprit framed me, but I have a question.”

“What is it?” Marian said.

“It's just…” Chelsea said. “Why go to the length of planting fake evidence against me, and then also mislead us into believing that Nina attempted murder, and _then_ try convince us that Wyatt was the culprit.” She raised an eyebrow. “It's like, layer upon fucking layer of lies, like some messed up Russian doll or something.”

“That's the thing,” Dirk said. “Can you really say the _culprit_ led us into pursuing those two theories?”

“What do you mean?” Marian said.

“I think we're giving the culprit too much credit here,” Dirk said. “We ended up convincing ourselves of those two theories without any input from the culprit – other than them trying to inch us towards the wrong conclusion.” He sighed. “The culprit's only trap was to frame Chelsea, and that's it – the rest was just our own over-assuming and paranoia. Like I said before, this case is easy to solve if we drop the elaborate assumptions.”

“You… you say that as if you've already solved this case,” Melissa said.

“Or at the very least… know who the true culprit is…” Joel added.

“But how?” Naomi said. “We've proven that literally everyone here is innocent!”

“And there's no way this was a suicide,” Ben said. “So who the hell did it?”

“I tried to tell you before,” Dirk said. “The key to solving this mystery has to do with the hallway door with the bloody handprint.” He folded his arms and looked to the side. “I went to the bathroom to investigate, and found out the door acts as a short-cut to the hallway.”

“Yeah, you said that already,” Wyatt said. “That's how we decided that it had to be Chelsea before it turned out she was framed.”

“You're going to have to explain a little more,” Marian said.

“Think about it,” Dirk said. “What I said should have adamantly proven that Chelsea could not be the culprit.”

“What,” Chelsea said. “You going to the bathroom and finding the door? I'm really not following.”

“Look,” Dirk said. “Think about how _me_ finding the bathroom door proves _Chelsea_ can't be the culprit.”

“Something about you and the bathroom, that proves Chelsea couldn't…” Marian said, trailing off. Then, her eyes grew wide and she let out a gasp. “Wait. Oh my God. Oh my _God_.”

“What is it?” Carlos asked.

“It's…” Marian said. “God, how were we all so _stupid_?”

“What are you on about?” Wyatt asked.

“It's so obvious,” Marian said, biting back a hysterical laugh. “It's so obvious why Dirk wouldn't have been able to uncover the bathroom door if Chelsea was the culprit.”

“So you finally get it,” Dirk said. “Then, I presume you know who the culprit is by now, too? The true culprit sitting at the heart of this case?”

Marian nodded. “Y-yeah,” she said. “I do.”

“Wait,” Melissa said, eyes wide. “You don't mean… It's because if Chelsea were the culprit, the door would connect to the _girls_ bathroom, and in that case, Dirk couldn't have…”

“Exactly,” Marian said grimly. “So with that in mind, there is only one person that could have done it… the true culprit who used the bathroom short-cut, framed Chelsea, and killed Nina… is…”

-

**SELECT A STUDENT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the trial and the second chapter as a whole conclude in the next part, and then we move onto my favourite parts of the story, so be excited for that!
> 
> and it should be pretty obvious by now, but let's hear who you think the true culprit behind this entire case is!


End file.
